Book excerpt: Orphan Ethan Hawk has spent the past twelve years sequestered by his uncle. His only friends are two weapon masters sent to train him in ancient warfare. Tired of being isolated, Ethan does not know his uncle is preparing him for a prophecy written in blood on another world. Then one fateful night, a would-be assassin dies a hard death, and Ethan learns the secret of his heritage. Ethan's family is from Bonshea, a world vibrant with magic and haunted by war. Ethan learns his family safeguards one of six Kingdom Gates connecting Bonshea and Earth crafted by Bonshea Powerstriders a thousand years earlier. But malevolent evil lives in the desperate kingdoms of Bonshea, and Agrinor's beasts are preparing to break the world again. Honoring his uncle's last wish to protect the Hawk Gate and defeat Agrinor's evil legions, Ethan returns to Bonshea to protect the Hawk Gate and prepare House Hawk for a cruel war of howling magic and honed steel. But he knows there are those who will do anything to eliminate the last Hawk. In this fantasy tale of blood, steel, duty, and honor, prophecy twists fate and destiny rides a restless wind as descendants of legendary men and women face the same horror as their ancestors.