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Ballad
A boy's dreams.
His sister's promise.
Destiny greater than either had imagined.
Born into humble obscurity, there was nothing Mathias Sagewind longed for more than to become the greatest knight Abaeloth had ever seen. When the chance comes for him to travel to Zeal—the very beacon of honor and justice—he vows to make the best of the opportunity and chase that dream by apprenticing under one of the holy city's out-of-work demon hunters.
But not all dreams are blissful and even the bravest of hearts can be shaken.
Demons have surfaced on Abaeloth after decades withdrawn in the hells. Lacking in his faith and with childhood notions of glory and adventure bursting to life in the most unexpected way, Mathias must rally his courage and strength to protect the mortal realm from the conquest of these wicked abominations.
Plummeted into brutal chaos, there is one thing Mathias Sagewind will do at any cost—and that is to become the greatest demon hunter Zeal has ever seen. With all the land relying on the rare talents of his sworn order, he must stand as a defiant bastion between demons and mortals, the cursed and divine, life and death.
His sister's promise.
Destiny greater than either had imagined.
Born into humble obscurity, there was nothing Mathias Sagewind longed for more than to become the greatest knight Abaeloth had ever seen. When the chance comes for him to travel to Zeal—the very beacon of honor and justice—he vows to make the best of the opportunity and chase that dream by apprenticing under one of the holy city's out-of-work demon hunters.
But not all dreams are blissful and even the bravest of hearts can be shaken.
Demons have surfaced on Abaeloth after decades withdrawn in the hells. Lacking in his faith and with childhood notions of glory and adventure bursting to life in the most unexpected way, Mathias must rally his courage and strength to protect the mortal realm from the conquest of these wicked abominations.
Plummeted into brutal chaos, there is one thing Mathias Sagewind will do at any cost—and that is to become the greatest demon hunter Zeal has ever seen. With all the land relying on the rare talents of his sworn order, he must stand as a defiant bastion between demons and mortals, the cursed and divine, life and death.
459 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 2, 2023
2 people want to read
About the author
Katika Schneider
11 books29 followersFueled by bedtime stories of The Hobbit and The Last Unicorn and afternoons adventuring in the woods behind her rural Missouri home, the jump from epic fantasy reader to epic fantasy author was a natural transition for Katika. She discovered her love of writing in fourth grade writing workshop, and embraced this art from that point forward. Spending junior high learning the ups and downs of style development via DragonLance fan fiction, she began crafting her own stories in high school, winning local writing competitions. Happiest when wordsmithing, she enrolled in creative writing courses in college and was told fantasy "wasn't creative fiction." This led her to seek alternative writing wisdom and heavily shaped her indie author ideals.
Kat accidentally discovered her world of Abaeloth in 2003 when creating a character for an RPG. This character shared her life story from birth to death and everything in between. With nothing left to game with, the only logical option was to begin writing so Nessix could live outside of Kat's mind. Devotion, the first book of Tale of the Fallen, was published in 2016 and three more series within the encompassing Afflicted Saga are currently drafted.
Today, Katika still considers rural Missouri home and lives on a farm with her supportive husband and their assortment of special needs animals. She forewent veterinary school due to unplanned life circumstances, and now spends her non-writing time playing with her dog, riding her horses, and drowning in garden gnomes.
Katika strives to draw on the brilliance of the fantasy classics to craft and deliver epic tales reminiscent to those told in the genre's golden age. It is among her most sincere hopes that you fall in love with Abaeloth and those who call it home as deeply as she has.
Kat accidentally discovered her world of Abaeloth in 2003 when creating a character for an RPG. This character shared her life story from birth to death and everything in between. With nothing left to game with, the only logical option was to begin writing so Nessix could live outside of Kat's mind. Devotion, the first book of Tale of the Fallen, was published in 2016 and three more series within the encompassing Afflicted Saga are currently drafted.
Today, Katika still considers rural Missouri home and lives on a farm with her supportive husband and their assortment of special needs animals. She forewent veterinary school due to unplanned life circumstances, and now spends her non-writing time playing with her dog, riding her horses, and drowning in garden gnomes.
Katika strives to draw on the brilliance of the fantasy classics to craft and deliver epic tales reminiscent to those told in the genre's golden age. It is among her most sincere hopes that you fall in love with Abaeloth and those who call it home as deeply as she has.
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