Arthur was fifty, tired, and forgotten. He died in a sterile hospital room, a man who had played it safe and lost everything. But death wasn't the end. He wakes up in the body of an eight-year-old boy named Kaelen, in a world where the dirt is stained with blood and the "Middle Ages" are just beginning to crawl out of the dark.
Sold to the Order of the Obsidian Veil, Kaelen is forged into a weapon. But unlike the other orphans, Kaelen has the mind of a man who knows the value of a second chance. As the world transitions from tribal warring to civilized empires, Kaelen moves through the shadows, caught between a forbidden love with a deadly rival and a conspiracy that threatens to undo the very civilization they are building.

Kaelen spun around. Lyra was standing in the shadows of the tunnel. But she wasn't alone. Behind her stood three acolytes, their brass forearm plates glowing a menacing red.


"They said they'd kill you if I didn't lead them here," Lyra said, her glass eyes filled with tears. "Silas wants what's behind that door, Kaelen. He says it's the only way to save the world from the Great Hunt."


"He's lying, Lyra!" Kaelen shouted. "He doesn't want to save the world; he wants to restart the machine that destroyed it!"


The acolytes lunged. Kaelen was a blur of motion, but these weren't ordinary killers. Their movements were assisted by the brass grafts, making them faster than humanly possible.


Chapter 25 - Chapter 25: The First Betrayal