The Foster Son of the Iron Crown

For fifteen years Ethan has lived as a nobody in the Duke's stables, where he has been made into a mounting block. The Duke's legitimate son torments him, and everyone around him sees only a powerless outcast. In secret, he has gathered a bronze crow ring, a merchant network, and a blood oath kept alive for a quarter century. His real father was the Empire's finest general, and the Duke is the deserter who left him behind. When the tyrant's son sends poisoned wine, Ethan drops his meek facade. He reclaims his family name, steadies the duchy's finances, wins the miners over, and rebuilds the shattered Spine of the Dragon Legion. The Duke's daughter, who used to sneak him food, becomes his most trusted aide. The wolf who waited fifteen years shows his fangs, and the players on the Empire's chessboard learn that he was the master of the game all along.