When he finally seized the sword, Morghan felt the power again, spiking in a sensation like the emptiness of unspoken words. A bloodless rage twisted through him just as the voice had twisted through him before, and in that instant, in a heartbeat, in the rawness of memory where it clawed at him from the dark dreams that the day tried to push away, he knew that anything was possible. Too many things still to be done. So many debts to repay. "Avenge them..." In a lost tomb, a warrior haunted by the deaths of those who once followed him hears an offer of redemption in the voice of an ancient blade... A sword of kings lingers in a forgotten forest, where dwells a timeless spirit of the wood - a creature able to sense the apocalyptic future that unfolds if the weapon is ever reclaimed... A prince and princess share a bond of blood and a dark secret, both of which threaten to destroy them when their forbidden passion costs their emperor father his life... A warrior living under a monstrous curse has his wish for death transformed by a desperate young girl with blood on her hands... A reclusive storyteller finds himself in possession of an enchanted axe that promises he will rule the world - whether he wants to or not... The pain of the past haunts a mage sought out by the woman he once loved, who needs his knowledge and power to save the life of the man she loves now... A young exile returns home carrying the weight of betrayal and the stolen sword that is the symbol of his people - a blade with which he will destroy the legacy of the father he tried and failed to kill years before... A king long thought dead walks his war-torn homeland as a ragged pilgrim, consumed by the sins of his past. But even as he does, the daughter of his greatest knight hunts him, desperate to convince him to take up the crown once more... The first Endlands anthology from Scott Fitzgerald Gray, "A Prayer for Dead Kings and Other Tales" follows a disparate group of heroes and villains caught up with the dark history - and darker destiny - of nine weapons of ancient magic, lost to time and mind. In the aftermath of the fall of Empire, magic is the ultimate force for tyranny and freedom in the lands of the Elder Kingdoms. Magic defines the line between right and wrong, life and death that compels countless characters to take up a mantle of heroism they never expected to wear. However, in the world of the Endlands, even the tales of heroes seldom end as expected... This collection includes six short stories, the novella "Ghostsong," and the short novel "A Prayer for Dead Kings.""