The Skydust Duke (Skydust Kingdoms Book 1) — Highly Anticipated New Release by Award Winning…
The Skydust Duke (Book 1)In a land where the sky once fell . . . .Lady Celise Dhastel has spent her life in the shadows — overlooked, underestimated, and quietly enduring the cruelty of her stepmother and half-sisters. Born without the gift of mana-channeling, her noble family sees her as a useless girl fit to work in the stables and nothing more.
Lord High Commander Elias Blackwood, dubbed “the Mad Dog” by the infamous Lady’s Letter, has scared off seven brides since returning home from the war. Haunted and hardened by the horrors of the Abyss, he has no patience for simpering courtiers or marriage schemes. But his father has arranged a birthday gala for him, and Elias has to choose a bride by the end of the ball.
After a twist of fate brings Celise and Elias together in the moonlit gardens of Gravenmere Castle, an unexpected spark ignites. Elias might be the most powerful supersoldier in the kingdom — but will he remove his armor for a chance at love?
The Skydust Duke: A Romantasy Cinderella Retelling (Skydust Kingdoms Book 1)
The Origin of The Daemon KingAn excerpt from “A Brief History of Nilos”
by Forsynthian historian Argile Cartwright.
When the meteor hit the continent of Agea three thousand years ago, the Kingdom of Forsynthia did not yet exist.
Prior to the meteor’s arrival, Nilos was an insignificant blue speck of a planet in the Twin Rings galaxy. Its flora and fauna followed the natural evolution of bacteria into plants and aquatic life, then into warm blooded mammals, then primates, then mankind. Ten thousand years ago, the meteor entered the atmosphere at terrifying speeds, creating an arc of fire across the sky, visible from pole to pole. Most of the meteor dissolved into rubble and sand. But a large molten chunk landed at the southern tip of the continent, opening an abyss over a hundred miles long. Although never confirmed by living eyes, its depths were rumored to reach the center of the planet.
Fed by Nilos’ rich atmosphere and native resources, specks of life lying dormant upon the meteor began their own, mutilated form of evolution. These parasites grew and evolved within the Abyss, undisturbed for thousands of years until without warning, the Daemon King appeared. A black, abhorrent beast of tremendous size, whether the creature was plant or mammal or insect or “other” remained unknown. Its body a writhing mass of tentacles, with poison-tipped claws and acidic maw, the Daemon King began spawning monsters into the Abyss.
At this time, as though orchestrated by a hand much greater than mere evolution, the Luminous emerged, humans of immense power and talent rising up from among the normal population. Whether gained from meteoric dust or by destiny or fate, the ability to channel a mysterious power called mana manifested among certain people of Nilos. Due to their glowing hands while channeling, the term “Luminary” or “Luminous” was adopted, and later, the name “Skytouched” was coined by the common people. The most powerful channelers formed families, then allegiances, establishing the Kingdom of Forsynthia as its ruling class. The same pattern repeated in the neighboring kingdoms of Brazia, Dresengard, Illysea, and Sera’naya. Day-to-day life changed forever, as generations of Luminous soldiers went into the Abyss to fight off the monsters and preserve Nilos’s blooming civilization.
Technology evolved, moving through the bronze age into the iron age. Then, with the advent of combustion engines, the world entered into a brand new era of industrial revolution.
Guns were provided to the armies of Forsynthia to fight back the demonic horde, but bullets proved ineffective against the monsters’ alien powers. The Skytouched remained the most efficient means of combating the creatures. Gunpowder proved only somewhat effective against the Daemon King’s regenerative body. Despite technology’s progress, it seemed only Luminary soldiers were capable of restraining the horrors of the Abyss. And so the Luminous remained the sole protectors of the kingdom. Year after year, special units of Daemonguard were trained by the military to protect the kingdom against the nightmares of the Abyss.
Many exceptional heroes rose up through the ranks of Skytouched to defeat the Daemon King. Over and over, the war was won, and the enemy was declared “dead.” But it seemed that, no matter how many times the Daemon King was killed, the heart of it remained buried somewhere deep within the core of the planet. Like a tenacious weed, the creature would lie dormant for a period of time before spawning again.
Sometimes, the monster’s dormancy lasted several generations, allowing the kingdoms of Nilos a chance to rebuild and their people to thrive. Sometimes, its dormancy lasted only a decade or so before the creatures of the Abyss surged again.
And so the tides of war and peace, of chaos and security, came and went for the people of Nilos.
Many stories have been written about warfare and battle — fewer have been written about the aftermath. Our tale begins shortly after the Daemon King’s defeat, at the end of a grueling ten year siege in the Abyss, with the Kingdom of Forsynthia returning to a period of uncertain peace on the cusp of industrial revolution.
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Author T. L. Shreffler © 2023About the AuthorT. L. Shreffler is the popular author of The Cat’s Eye Chronicles. She enjoys writing Epic Fantasy, Romantasy and YA Fantasy adventure novels, with strong heroines, brooding heroes, complex villains and slow burn romance. She holds a degree in English from Cal State Northridge (emphasis Creative Writing.) She has been publishing her creative works for more than 20 years. Her latest series, Skydust Kingdoms, will debut in 2026.
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