Smashwords Amazon Category:  Fantasy ISBN-10:  1453805869 Type: Fiction Copyright: July 2010 ISBN-13: 9781453805862 A mysterious stone tablet, five magical gems, dark secrets, a powerful sword, and a letter written two hundred years ago. These are the things that haunt Gavin Kinshield, a warrant knight destined to become king... unless he can find a replacement before the dark sorcerer Brodas Ravenkind finds him. A mysterious stone tablet with five magical gems has sat abandoned in a cave for two hundred years. The kingdom is in ruins, with only warrant knights to keep the peace. But then, the gems in the tablet, one by one, disappear. Warrant knight Gavin Kinshield is a man of many secrets. He's the one deciphering the runes in the tablet. Unless he can find a suitable replacement, he'll be Thendylath's next king. All he really wants is the letter written by his ancestor Ronor Kinshield, champion to King Arek, confessing the truth of how the king perished. Daia Saberheart, warrior of the Viragon Sisterhood, wants to find the future king and help him claim his rightful place. Blacksmith Risan Stronghammer wants to reward him with a powerful weapon. And the sorcerer Brodas Ravenkind wants to capture him, steal his secret and claim the throne for himself. But when Gavin finally tracks down Ronor's letter, he gets far more than he's bargained for, for the truth of King Arek's demise is far darker than he ever imagined.   Excerpt “We want to buy a special enchantment for his new sword,” Arlet told Jennalia. “We have gold.” Jennalia chuckled and went to the dresser again. “You need no gold here, my dear.” She opened a drawer and withdrew a piece of parchment. “Enchantments such as this cannot be bought for any amount of money.” She shut the drawer and motioned Risan to follow her to a table. “Put it there.” Risan removed the leather wrap, set the sword on the table, and stepped back. Jennalia laid the parchment on the table and ran her hands lightly over the sword. “The enchantment I will put on this weapon is very strong. It will bind to whoever claims the sword.” “I’ll keep it safe,” he said. “You must not let anyone take up this weapon before the king does. It will speak to anyone with a warrior’s spirit. No one but the king must utter its name else the weapon will bind itself to the wrong person.” “No one must handle the sword.” “Whoever speaks its name owns the sword. Only the owner’s death can unbind the enchantment, which weakens every time it is unbound.” “Yes, I understand.” Jennalia opened another drawer in the dresser and withdrew an inkpot and a brush. She set them on the table and opened the inkpot. She dipped the brush into it. Risan watched the brush as she drew it across the parchment, first a horizontal line, then slightly curved line to the left, and then another at a downward angle to the right. She drew in the ancient script of Fartha, but he did not recognize the symbols. When at last she lifted the brush and wrapped it in a piece of paper, Risan studied the drawing, cocking his head. On the parchment were three symbols, one atop the other. “Strength in battle,” Arlet whispered, pointing to the top symbol. “But written backward.” “Yes, backward,” Jennalia said. “The other two are for sharpness, so the blade will never dull, and Warrior’s Wisdom. With the Rune Stones in the sword, the enchantments will become even more powerful.” She placed three deep brown gems on the parchment around the three symbols and waved her hand in the air over them. Her lips moved silently. As Risan watched the parchment and the symbols upon it, the ink flared up suddenly in a sparkling gold color, and then faded to black once more. Jennalia laid the parchment on the blade, ink against metal, at the sword’s shoulder. After a moment, a wisp of smoke wove its way skyward. The three characters faded into view on the reverse side of the parchment. Their color went from pale pink to blood red to dark brown and then to black. When the three characters stopped smoking, she lifted the parchment. The symbols were burned into the metal, black and dull against the silver blade. “It is done,” Jennalia said in a shaking voice. She moved stiffly, raising a hand to her head, and fumbled for a chair before collapsing onto it. “Take it to our king, but remember my warning.” “Yes,” Arlet whispered. “We’ll remember.” Risan ran a finger over the three symbols in awe. He picked up the sword and gripped it, feeling the strength of the enchantment coursing through it. It hummed, vibrated with a life of its own. Oh, yes. It was a special sword, indeed. Aldras Gar, a voice whispered in his mind. Its name was Aldras Gar.

Piers Anthony, best-selling author of the Xanth novels
"The Kinshield Legacy is a rousing good fantasy tale, with nice characterization and some ferocious action. These days I read primarily for business rather than pleasure, but I found myself eager to return to this novel."

Carol Davis Luce, Author of Night Passage
"From the very first page, The Kinshield Legacy grabs you by the throat and propels you into a world of magic, sorcery, jeweled-eyed gargoyles and a sisterhood of female warriors. A world where beyonders savage unsuspecting travelers; where a dark, yet charismatic, wizard covets the king's throne for his own and will let no one get in his way-including the rightful ruler. He who claims the King's Bloodstone shall reign as king. Enter Gavin Kinshield, warrant knight and rune solver, a man haunted by his past, and a hero like no other. A rousing debut from K. C. May, an author worth watching."