Before They Are Hanged

As the brutal war with Bethod's forces escalates in the unforgiving North, the Union army finds itself woefully unprepared, fractured by internal politics and rampant incompetence, facing an onslaught for which they are scarcely equipped. Simultaneously, in the scorching South, the besieged city of Dagoska braces for an inevitable and bloody assault from the Gurkish. Inquisitor Glokta, a cynical and crippled torturer, is tasked with defending the city, but uncovers a treacherous plot from within that threatens to hand Dagoska over to its enemies without a fight. His desperate search for answers is complicated by the mysterious disappearance of his predecessor. Meanwhile, a disparate band of outcasts embarks on a perilous journey to the ends of the known world, seeking a legendary artifact – a Seed – capable of unimaginable destruction or salvation, a power that could reshape the entire world, if they can only find it and control its terrifying potential. Three interwoven narratives drive this dark and gripping epic towards an uncertain and violent future.