Deep Dweller

by Patrick Bran

The Wind Riders are sworn to safeguard the inhabitants of the Cracked Earth, where the land seems bent on humankind's destruction. Now Dareth has joined the ranks of the riders. Bound by duty, he risks life and sanity to interpret the enigmatic omens carried by the red smoke that rises up from deep within the earth.

As he delves deeper, Dareth realizes that the answers to a more intricate puzzle lie within the very heart of the criss-crossing chasms that scar the broken terrain. These revelations, if uncovered, could lead Dareth to the ancient forces that govern the very essence of the land.

To embark on this quest, Dareth must confront those who seek to thwart his every step. He must battle his own willfulness and fear. But above all, against the power of the red smoke, he simply must survive.

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 15, 2024

About the author

Patrick Bran spent much of his early life moving around. As a young man he traveled everywhere from the Middle East to Antarctica by way of the US Army. He then returned home to Washington State, where he began college and started his lifelong involvement with theatre. Over the next several years he worked at acting and stagecraft, eventually moving to Washington DC where he went to work for a nationally-renowned regional theatre. When progress demanded it, Patrick left the scene shop and took the reins of the company's young web presence, a job he has now been doing for a decade. Patrick still lives in Washington DC with his wife and two daughters. He writes fiction and gets his best ideas from ancient history, myth and the legends of the past.