In hardcover for the first time ever! A gorgeously illustrated anniversary edition of the book that launched the epic Farseer Trilogy, praised by George R. R. Martin as “fantasy as it ought to be written” and Lin-Manuel Miranda as “an incredible series,” featuring a new foreword by Robin Hobb and ten full-color illustrations. Twenty-five years ago, Robin Hobb’s first novel featuring FitzChivalry Farseer and his mysterious, often maddening friend the Fool struck like a bolt of brilliant lightning. Thus began a beloved saga spanning multiple series, full of adventure, magic, and sinister plots. To celebrate a quarter-century of wonder, this special edition presents a modern classic as it’s never been seen before: in hardcover, with ten beautiful full-color illustrations by Magali Villeneuve. Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father’s gruff stableman. He is treated as an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him secretly tutored in the arts of the assassin. For in Fitz’s blood runs the magic Skill—and the darker knowledge of a child raised with the stable hounds and rejected by his family. As barbarous raiders ravage the coasts, Fitz is growing to manhood. Soon he will face his first dangerous, soul-shattering mission. And though some regard him as a threat to the throne, he may just be the key to the survival of the kingdom. Praise for Robin Hobb and Assassin’s Apprentice   “Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb’s books are diamonds in a sea of zircons.” —George R. R. Martin   “A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies . . . a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne.” — Publishers Weekly   “This is the kind of book you fall into, and start reading slower as you get to the end, because you don’t want it to be over.” —Steven Brust “Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb’s books are diamonds in a sea of zircons.” —George R. R. Martin    “A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies . . . a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne.” — Publishers Weekly   “This is the kind of book you fall into, and start reading slower as you get to the end, because you don’t want it to be over.” —Steven Brust Robin Hobb  is the author of the Farseer Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Trilogy, the Tawny Man Trilogy, the Soldier Son Trilogy, and the Rain Wilds Chronicles. She has also written as Megan Lindholm. She is a native of Washington State. Magali Villeneuve  has been an illustrator for well over a decade, and started by painting book covers in France, her home country. She now works for many different companies and publishing houses around the world, including Wizards of the Coast, Titan Publishing, Dynamite Comics, Valve Corporation, and Fantasy Flight Games. Her work has been featured in role-playing games, video games, collectible cards games, magazines, and book covers. She has done work in the universes of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and more. She is also the author of the dark fantasy book series La Dernière Terre in France. Chapter 1 The Earliest History A history of the Six Duchies is of necessity a history of its ruling family, the Farseers. A complete telling would reach back beyond the founding of the First Duchy and, if such names were remembered, would tell us of Outislanders raiding from the sea, visiting as pirates a shore more temperate and gentler than the icy beaches of the Out Islands. But we do not know the names of these earliest forebears. And of the first real King, little more than his name and some extravagant legends remain. Taker his name was, quite simply, and perhaps with that naming began the tradition that daughters and sons of his lineage would be given names that would shape their lives and beings. Folk beliefs claim that such names were sealed to the newborn babes by magic, and that these royal offspring were incapable of betraying the virtues whose names they bore. Passed through fire and plunged through salt water and offered to the winds of the air; thus were names sealed to these chosen children. So we are told. A pretty fancy, and perhaps once there was such a ritual, but history shows us this was not always sufficient to bind a child to the virtue that named it. . . . My pen falters, then falls from my knuckly grip, leaving a worm’s trail of ink across Fedwren’s paper. I have spoiled another leaf of the fine stuff, in what I suspect is a futile endeavor. I wonder if I can write this history, or if on every page there will be some sneaking show of a bitterness I thought long dead. I think myself cured of all spite, but when I touch pen to paper, the hurt of a boy bleeds out with the sea-­spawned ink, until I suspect each carefully formed black letter scabs over some ancien