The Furnaces of Dawn

The Sagas of the Fallen Earth: Book Three

As conflict escalates, opposing forces become desperate – and cruel.

Draden Lucian, the Sovereign of Azadia, has been captured by the enemy. As Draden struggles to survive – much less escape – the Alryan reformatory of Patient Heart, the enemy’s already intimidating strength continues to advance. With the ambitious Shanshariel taking over as interim High Supplicant in Alrya, the Empire’s manipulation of the Vessels becomes ever more refined – and more deadly.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in Ephemerial, one of Alrya’s most fiercely contested colonies. There, Epomina Maris leads the Azadian forces, even as she struggles to overcome the distrust instilled in her by her past. But who can bring her forces together if not their Commander? And Epomina will need her allies, for what lays before her is the most cunning strategic problem she’s ever faced – the siege of Logris, capital of Ephemerial.
On the other side of the city wall, the inhabitants of Logris face their own struggles, as the sentrian defenders court dangerous forces so that they may annihilate their enemies. But for one young sentrian, the war in Ephemerial only further estranges her from her own people, as Hazet, a servant charged with the care of a new Vessel core, faces more danger from those around her than the enemies over the wall. Hazet knows her time is running out, for win or lose, she’s in more danger than ever before.
In Alrya’s own capital, a disgraced sentrian escapes execution for a crime he did not commit. But Embriel still has business in Siyon. Hiding within the heart of Alryan government, Embriel turns his talents to undermining Shanshariel’s attempted coup. When shocking allegations come to light, Embriel knows that his only chance to save his beloved homeland is to exploit public sentiment against Shanshariel’s corrupt leadership. This time, the trial that decides Siyon’s fate will not be Embriel’s – but Shanshariel’s. Yet, as Alrya grows ever more eager to seize victory in the war against the Azadian ‘demons’ they despise, calling upon their better nature becomes ever more of a challenge, even for the most talented – and desperate – of sentrians.
While chaos reigns up above, things are no less restive down below in the deepest frontlines of the war between Azadia and Alrya – the Lower Kingdoms. Jak, the newly appointed Prophet of the Serpent God, crosses the Veil once again, this time traveling from Jaethimax back to Azadia – and directly into the subterranean hellscape of the Underearth. Here, Jak finds his friends, Edim and Tlia, enslaved by a lord of the Lower Kingdoms. The Prophet makes a dramatic debut in Azadia, fighting for the enslaved with his considerable gift for the magic of Moonsigh. But even Jak’s supranatural gifts may not be enough, for below them, rising like terrible floodwaters, comes the army of the centelliads – led by the legendary Adomia, and her cunning consort, Essaphagus. The Plated Horde is willing to destroy all that stands in their path as they make their way to the Surface – including Jak.
Meanwhile, Sarien Lucian and the ex-assassin Sameres flee across the perilous landscape of Azadia after their brief collision with a traitorous cohort of caidens who aim to betray the new Sovereign of Azadia for their own gain. Sarien must deliver a dire warning to the Council in Gautica as soon as possible – if she can survive the murderous traitors pursuing her from Duke Sitri’s stronghold, for they will stop at nothing to kill Sarien before she can make it to safety.
As this transpires, Draden remains trapped on the far side of the Veil with little hope of escape, and his desperation to return home yields little but blood. But as the chaos of war escalates, Azadia will need its Sovereign – before Shanshariel brings the war to Azadian soil in full force, and all is lost.

The Furnaces of Dawn is the third entry in The Sagas of the Fallen Earth, an epic of gothic fantasy.

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