Showing results by author "Aaron Bunce" in All Categories

Thorben Paulson is an ordinary man, trying to raise his family the honest way. Unfortunately, the Council’s tax collectors demand more and more each thaw, taking in both coin and food. For a branded man like Thorben, his checkered past means the burden is always greater. With hungry mouths to feed and winter on the horizon, Thorben’s desperation grows. A visitor appears unexpectedly in town, a man from his past, carrying a map and a promise - enough coin to feed his family for the foreseeable future, in exchange for a single job. Not just any job, however.

My name is Vayo, and I am a slave. My people lived in Argia, the City of Light, before Nabonidus the Defiler swept across the land. He conquered, murdering and enslaving the other tribes. I was born after the fall, in a crumbling pit of despair and sadness. Nabonidus crowned himself ruler of the land, building his new kingdom from the rubble of our fallen world. I live and serve them now, my head bowed, and my eyes down. That is, until a master servant chose me.

Ban Turin, the heavily fortified and cosmopolitan capital of Denoril, has gone dark, its massive gates closed for the first time in an age. Only two people know why: A denil monk and his unlikely savior, a freed prostitute named Aida. They make a desperate March south, fighting the harsh winter to deliver a message of Woe - a message that lord Thatcher, the Earl of the lakes, will likely struggle to believe. The Nymradic, an ancient and powerful race, has returned, aided by none other than Djaron Algast, Denoril’s overthrown king.

Only a handful of people stand between Denoril's annihilation and salvation. Roman and his friend Dennah are accused of vicious crimes they did not commit. One man can prove their innocence, but their desperate quest to find Frenin leaves them crushed between men seeking justice and an unforgiving blizzard. With nowhere else to run, their only salvation may lie with the law's darkest agent, the Crow. Julian, the former initiate of the Silver Guard, then enslaved, was left for dead by his captors.

An intelligent, six-limbed beast snatches a girl away from her family. An orphan confronts the darkness in his past, while a menace stalks his small town. A young woman cast into servitude tries to forge her own path in an unforgiving world. And an inexperienced soldier following the path of honor and duty comes face to face with a foe born from his worst nightmares. Seemingly unconnected, this small group of normal folk will fight to survive, for an ancient evil has awakened, and Denoril will need heroes if it is to endure The Winter of Swords.

My name is Vayo, and I am no longer a slave. I have ascended, assuming the mantle of Grae god. I wield elemental power now, and with Traba, an enormous storm bird, at my side, I set out to finally see my people set free. And yet, I am not the only one wielding unnatural strength. In his desperation, Cyrus brokered a deal with the darkest of the Undergods. If I am to defeat the King and his newfound power, I must locate the other ascendants. Only with them at my side can I restore balance. To find them, I need a relic lost to both time and sand.