On the run from a mad king and living on the streets of his sworn enemies, Niklas assumed his life had bottomed out. After all, how much worse could it get?Apparently, a lot.When one of his closest allies, the priest Matthias, is murdered by a shadowy group known only as the Marauders, he swears to bring them to justice. Yet the more he learns about their activities, the more he realizes their intentions are far more insidious than simply raiding a few villages. The fate of not only Israel, but every country in the region, is at risk, and only Niklas and a small band of followers stand between the Marauders and utter destruction.
"e;Find the traitor hiding within Israel,"e; the seer warns Niklas, "e;or our nation will be enslaved and your hometown slaughtered."e; So, no pressure. Niklas, a fifteen-year-old shepherd, spent his whole life dreaming of revolt against the hygiene-adverse Philistines, but when the all-but-impossible mission is thrust upon him, he starts to rethink the whole hero business. What chance does the daring schemer have when lions, the Mad King, and a literal giant stand in his way? As Niklas races to uncover the hidden traitor, conspiracies and armies converge on the nation—with his hometown directly in the crossfire.