Records of the Realm: Frostlight

Ling Shuo's life began on a snowy night. At eighteen, she is the least remarkable illegitimate daughter in the Prince of Bai Lin's household. Her father shows her no affection, her stepmother looks down on her, and her brothers bully her. She thinks she will spend her life trapped in the inner chambers, withering away in solitude. Until the Jing clan draws blood and cuts off every path of retreat. On the night her family is massacred, the power of frost awakens within her, freezing three thousand pursuers. She flees to the Fanlan Plateau with her father's final letter. It reads: “Do not go to the Ruins. They are a prison, not a treasure trove.” But she is determined to go. With a mask on her face, she becomes an unknown military strategist and spends ten years laying her plans, uniting the Nine Realms. Not to rule the world, but to ask one question: Why must the gatekeeper die? Why must one person be imprisoned to bring peace to the world? Only after she gathers the strength of eight realms and stands before the Gate of the Ruins does she understand her father's anguish and silence. Some doors, once opened, lead straight to hell. Some freedoms are heavier than death. The realm she fought for with her entire life is no more than another, more splendid prison. “Father, you told me not to enter the Ruins.” “But I have to see for myself what lies beyond the gate: hell, or a new beginning.” This is a journey of revenge and redemption. It is the life of a pawn who takes control of the game and commands the world, only to find herself caught in an even greater game. It is an epic of the Nine Realms, and the story of one person's path as a prisoner who never turns back.