Forge of the High Mage: A Tale of the Path to Ascendancy (Path to Ascendancy, Bk. 4)

After decades of warfare, Malazan forces are posed to consolidate the Quon Tali mainland. Yet it is at this moment that Emperor Kellanved orders a new campaign: the invasion of Falar.

So the Malazans head north, only to encounter an unlooked-for and most unwelcome threat. Something unspeakable, borne of legend, has woken and will destroy all who stand in its way. All too aware of the true nature of this ancient horror, the Empire's untested High mage, Tayschrenn, fears his own inadequacies in having to confront it. Yet confront it he must.

Fala is itself far from defenseless. Its priests possess a weapon rumored to be a gift from the sea god Mael—a weapon so terrifying it has not been unleashed for centuries. But two can play at that game, for the Emperor's flagship is also thought to be not entirely of this world...

Here, then, among the Ice Wastes and the islands of Falar, the Empires of Malaz faces two seemingly insurmountable tests—each one potentially the origin of its destruction.