Book excerpt: THE WESTERN WORLD IS BURNING... Even as cities and cathedrals are tumbling, their defenders crucified by the invading Merduks, the Faithful war among themselves, purging heretics and magical folk and adding to the flames. For Richard Hawkwood and his crew, a desperate venture to carry refugees to the uncharted land across the Great Western Ocean offers the only chance of escape from the Inceptines’ pyres. The King's cousin, Lord Murad, has an ancient log book telling of a free, unspoiled land...