World of Iron and Blood

1054. Yaroslav is dead. Kyiv is left without the hand that held its order. Boyars wait, cities watch one another, and merchants keep their caravans outside the gates. No one knows whose name will be spoken in the oath tomorrow. A prince takes the Kyivan throne who was never meant for power. He has no strong friends, no old alliances and almost no time. In Rus’, power rests on the druzhina, on oaths, and on alliances. Let one of these knots loosen, and the balance begins to shift. This is a story about power, about taking it before someone else does, and about what happens when holding it proves harder than winning it.