Blood Song by Anthony Ryan follows Vaelin al Sorna, the son of the king's battle lord, who is left as a young boy with the Sixth Order — the warrior sect of the realm's faith. Trained in deadly combat and surviving internal plots to kill him, Vaelin develops a legendary reputation as a warrior while uncovering deeper conspiracies threatening the kingdom. Guided by a mystical internal sense called the "blood song," he leads the king's army across the sea into the Alpyrian Empire before finding himself captured and forced to duel for his life.