The Steel Remains
Richard Morgan
 Almost ten years after the Human-Kiriath Alliance repelled the invading Scaled Folk in a terrible war, three of the war heroes still have difficulty adjusting to the uneasy peace and the renewed conflict between the northern League and the Yhelteth Empire. Ringil Eskiath lives in self-imposed exile from his native Trelayne, exchanging war stories for board and lodging in a small village's inn; to most people he is the hero of Gallows Gap, but his own family shuns him because he is gay. Lady kir-Archeth Indamaninarmal, the only human-kiriath half-breed, was left behind when the Kiriath abandoned the world, and finds herself more and more unable to tolerate the decadent court of the Yhelteth Emperor. Egar Dragonbane, a Majak mercenary, returned to his people after the wars, but having seen the wonders of the civilized world he feels out of place as a nomad clan leader in the steppe.