THE OATHBEARER

<p> </p><p>Once Yaroslav was a weapon - the Volkodlak wolf-skin of the king oath-bound and blood-marked. He broke what needed breaking.</p><p></p><p>He served a crown forged in conquest and watched peace come at the edge of a blade. When the Isles were finally bound by fire and salt he walked away. Seven years in exile. A hall of pine above the cliffs. No sword raised. No voice lifted. Only silence sea-wind and the ache of hands turned to honest work. But peace does not keep what war has claimed.</p><p></p><p>Now the king is dying. The queen calls him back - to find what should have stayed buried and bear a burden no man should carry. A royal campaign to quash rebellion conceals the deeper mission: Yaroslav is to recover the relics of Saint Ilyin martyr of fire.</p><p></p><p>But the fire does not save.</p><p></p><p>In the Broken Isles the dead still speak. The sea waits. And judgement comes for all - oath-keepers and oath-breakers alike.</p><p> </p>