Kirjahaku

The Kri are dangerous and ruthless mercenaries who plunge the northern lands into war and destruction. King Grimwolf leads the united forces into the Battle of the Bloodswamp, where an entire generation of warriors perishes. All the Kri are killed there - men, women, old and young, even the children - except for one boy. On the battlefield, a woman discovers the baby lying next to a dying warrior. Having recently lost her two infant sons, she decides to keep it for her own, defying the judgment against his vanquished people. A blacksmith helps her keep the secret. Kitt grows up on a remote island in the grey northern sea. He works hard to become a master blacksmith, values books above gold, and daydreams about faraway lands and shimmering cities. He never doubts that he knows everything about his parents - the blacksmith Eckehart and the healer Aslaug - unaware of the dark secret that shrouds his birth. Warriors from many lands come to Isenkliff in pursuit of the renowned Aurora Steel, and they show Kitt how to become a warrior too. His mother disapproves of combat and war and teaches him to heal wounds and harness his strength, not to do harm. However, she does not share her knowledge of magic with him. In thirteen tales, Kitt faces Ice-Giants and the Snow Queen, fearsome monsters and once a moonlight sword wielded by a silver woman. He crosses the sea in an open boat to sail to the Dark Wood Murkowydir, where lost cities sleep and creatures survive that are long extinct elsewhere. There, the Woodstalkers lurk, who are feared for their stealth and cruelty. The Knights of the Red Lily teach him their code of honor to aid, protect and serve.

The third book of the Wandering Blacksmith series takes Kitt to sea. Fleeing pursuit in Tolosa, he clandestinely boards a trader ship for a swift getaway. However, his hopes are thwarted as the ship becomes ensnared in a succession of contrary storms, preventing them from reaching any land. In the midst of this dire situation, a new threat appears on the horizon - the ominous purple sails of a formidable pirate ship. The dread Orokun of the Bloody Hand attacks. In a singlehanded counterattack, Kitt boards the pirate ship and slays the deformed fiend he finds at the helm, who is a sea witch holding the pirates in thrall. What follows is a relentless struggle in the dark confines of the ship's lower decks, with Kitt battling against half the crew. Fortunately, unexpected aid derives from a magical amulet. After a prolonged and arduous confrontation, an agreement is eventually reached and Kitt assumes the role of smith and armourer on the Orokun, which soon sails by his rules. Life aboard the leaky four-master, riddled with conflicting magic, presents a series of challenges. He faces the Kraken and the undead sea witch, weathers monster storms, and celebrates his twentieth birthday perched atop the mainmast. The search for a safe port in uncharted waters leads to the hidden island of Satanazes, where restless ghosts guard their treasures, a volcanic underground forge waits for a smith to work again, and a devious merman plots mischief.

In three interconnected tales, Kitt is thrust into hair-raising adventures, confronting unforeseen dangers and grappling with an impossible dilemma that pushes the limits of his resolve. Deep within the mysterious Murkowydir woods, Kitt stumbles upon the crumbling remnants of ancient cities and abandoned copper and tin mines. In an impulse of compassion, he saves a man from a grisly fate, unaware that this selfless act sets in motion a chain of events that will plunge the realm of Rilante into war and despair. Driven by the intricate dance of the Wandering Stars, Prince Ardri is entangled in the intrigues of an ancient magical kingdom. He tempts Kitt with the secrets of bronze, and the cost is high. Far too high. As the ensuing chaos unfolds, the question weighs heavily: who should bear the burden of responsibility for the consequences? A monstrous black growth engulfs the heart of the woods, its sinister tendrils spreading through malevolent creatures' dark and cruel rituals. Kitt joins forces with the Feen Woodstalkers in a precarious alliance, on a perilous quest to eradicate the encroaching menace of the black thorns before they invade people's homes. Returning to Isenkliff, Kitt finds his family absent and learns the truth about his own birth. With his life turned upside down, he leaves his home behind and ventures into the wide world.