Before he was a cruel prince or a wicked king, Cardan was a faerie child with a heart of stone... and a wicked tongue. Born into a family overburdened with heirs, nourished on cat milk and contempt, perhaps it's no surprise he turned out the way he did. This is the story of Elfhame's enigmatic high king, Cardan -- and of his visits to the mortal world to face the troll woman, Aslog of the West -- told wholly from Cardan's perspective.