I am the blade - J P Buxton

When his woodcutter guardian is viciously murdered and his home burned to the ground, Tog is running for his life. It's freezing, he's lost everything, there's a man with a knife on his tail, and all he has to survive are his wits, his fighting skills, taught to him by woodcutter guardian but never before tested, the motley travelling companions he gathers on the way, and a garbled message - the woodcutter's last, gasped words - STONE, ORCHARD, MOON. Are they clues? The ravings of a fading mind? So begins a journey through a land ruled by robber barons, though they call themselves lords and kings - towards a destiny - or choice - at first dimly perceived, growing stronger and more terrifying as his journey nears its climax.