Assassin's Apprentice

Synopsis

Six years old. That's the age when Fitz's destiny shifts forever. Recognized as the bastard of crown prince Chivalry, he is placed in the care of stablemaster Burrich, then secretly trained in the arts of the assassin by the enigmatic Chade. Raised in the shadow of Buckkeep, gifted with the Wit that allows him to commune with beasts, and touched by the first whispers of the Skill — the hereditary magic of the Farseers — Fitz prepares to serve a crown that gives him no name.

In the realm of the Six Duchies, bastards are shown little mercy. When young Fitz is delivered to Buckkeep Castle by his maternal grandfather, his entire world collapses. Placed under the care of stablemaster Burrich, he gradually discovers the inner workings of a court eaten away by Prince Regal's ambitions and the Red-Ship Raiders devastating the coast. Old King Shrewd sees Fitz as a weapon to be forged: he will be the royal assassin, secretly trained by the mysterious Chade. But Fitz carries the Wit within him, a magic despised by nobility, which lets him forge bonds with animals — and one dog in particular. The first novel of a cult cycle, Assassin's Apprentice lays the foundation of a fantasy epic of devastating humanity.