The soldiers arrive in Ventria and succeed in rescuing Gorben from a siege. En route, they are attacked by pirates and during this fight Sieben sees a demon materialise to defend Druss and comes to the conclusion that Druss is possessed. When Druss recovers, he and Sieben (who is fleeing a jealous lover's husband) join a group of mercenaries recruited by the Ventrian soldier Bodasen, who is going to support the emperor Gorben in a war in Ventria against the neighbouring Naashanites and rebels. However, they fail to stop the ship from setting sail without them. Druss is badly wounded but survives, and Shadak reappears to kill Collan. Druss attempts to break onto the ship to rescue her, but is ambushed by Collan's men on the dock. Together they find out that Rowena will be transported to the distant land of Ventria. Druss travels to Mashrapur and meets Shadak's friend Sieben. Shadak succeeds in interrogating Harib Ka before Druss kills him, and learns that Rowena (who Harib Ka has realised has mystic powers) has been taken to the port of Mashrapur. Druss meets the hunter Shadak, who is hunting the slavers to avenge the death of his son, and they join forces to pursue them.

With his dying breath, Druss' father tells him to fetch the family battle-axe (Snaga), which was stolen by his grandfather Bardan. While he is away from the village chopping wood, a party of slavers, led by Harib Ka and the master swordsman Collan, comes to the village and kills or enslaves everyone they find. The story begins in Druss's village in the Drenai Empire. The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend is a fantasy novel by British author David Gemmell, first published in 1993. The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend (The Drenai Saga #6), David Gemmell

David gemmell legend series