Heartless Dark - J.P. Buxton

Tog has fulfilled his destiny - but destiny bites back. He's got it all: power - he's the high king; friendship - those who fought for survival alongside him are still at his side; love - Jenna, his extraordinary young warrior queen, who seems to hold the key to some all-powerful mystery in her very being. Then a savage warlord called the Dragon rips it all away. What do you do? If you're Tog, you set off to win it back, even though the quest seems hopeless, even though everyone tells you it's hopeless. Alone, guilt ridden, you push down the rivers of Britain into the heart of country to pit your courage and resolution against the Dragon, this byword of evil and depravity who rules with a powerful war band that includes vicious child soldiers. He's terrorizing the country round his stronghold, turning everything to a blasted ruin, corrupted and corrupting. There is no way forward for Tog but to face the forgotten armies, the hostile tribesmen, the ancient mysteries he can barely grasp - and his own demons.