Nicholas Rinth – författare

If the future was bared before you, would it still be yours?If the past could chase you, would you run from it?If the world crumbled tonight, would you carve your own?

Freedom is out of the question for practitioners of the Institute, and any supporters otherwise are dealt with violently. A system Sylvie Sirx neither refutes, nor endorses—born from an enviable family, talented in her skills, and entirely too content with her position, her path has always been a straight one… until now.

Her qualifications backfire when an elder from the north descends upon her home for a Choosing. He calls upon the Drowned Tower’s most sought after practitioners for a simple job that ends in blood, and then Sylvie’s blissful world erupts. She finds herself in the company of the Elementalist, Jacques Dace, an insufferable but deadly enthusiast of personal reform. Together, they’re swept into a spiral of powerful magic and ancient grudges. Where truth bends, stones whisper secrets of the past, and their home lies at the heart of what could very well be Ferus Terria’s next recorded war.

And for once, she is forced to choose a side, learning for herself what it means to master fate.

How far would you go to learn the truth?If it isn't what you expected, would you accept it?If the world rejected it, would you stand by it?

With the Drowned Tower in shambles and its practitioners left to wander the foreign lands of Ferus Terria, Sylvie and Jack set out to learn more about the stone’s history. Their first stop: the Red Veld. But finding answers isn’t as easy as simply inquiring.

They quickly find themselves stepping into an entire Institute of uncooperative practitioners, banding with an eccentric auctioneer, and standing against a horde of hired Nebbin. Where they must carve a path for themselves or risk losing what little they have left—it isn’t much of a choice. The pair barrel blindly through the dark. While unknown to them, the Zenith Council stirs with revolts surging in the west and Jack’s closest friend is captured by slavers interested in learning the secret to magic. The world continues to spin. But together, they realize the mystery behind the rise of the First Zenith and uncover truths that could rock the very foundation of the Institute that governs them.

Some secrets, however, should never be brought to light. And there are those that would kill to keep it that way.

When the flames driving you are doused,When the weight of the living cloaks your shoulders,When you're shackled with a lifelong burden,Would you still struggle to rise?

With their newfound possession in hand, Sylvie and Jack uncover the truth behind the First Zenith's hidden past. But every answer only shapes more questions. Their journey leads them to the heart of the Weeping Grove, where they might fill in the gaps of their knowledge and find safe passage to their next destination.

Unbeknownst to them, the west stirs with whispers of violence and blood. All Institutes have their skeletons, but there are some that have the power to shatter entire nations. Neither are willing to let that happen. They seek to handle matters quietly, only to discover that the tumultuous relationship between the western practitioners and their degrading Potentate Union has finally peaked. An internal struggle blossoms before their eyes, where they must fight to survive… or die in the attempt. Amidst it all, old comrades gather, new enemies appear, and an ardent purist plots to restore the world to its former order. 

Sylvie and Jack learn how the consequences of one man’s life can echo long after his death, marking new beginnings as a reminder that history can only be scripted by those left standing.