When The Gates Open

by Simon Shugar

War finds everyone eventually. Even scribes.

Mads begins the Succession Wars as a village scribe, trained to record, not to fight. But when violence reaches his home and survival forces his hand, he is drafted into the ranks of soldiers who barely understand the cause they are dying for. In the chaos of battle, a near-death moment awakens something within him. A power that does not ask permission. A power that refuses to stay quiet.

Amid brutal conflict and hard-won camaraderie, Mads starts to believe the wars tearing his world apart can be ended. His growing ability pushes him toward dangerous choices, where cruelty comes easy and mercy has a price.

As kingdoms fracture and ideals fail, Mads must decide what kind of man he will become. Because when the gates finally open, what steps through may not be a hero at all.

295 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 16, 2026

About the author

Hey, I’m Simon Shugar—fantasy author hooked on telling bold, emotional, action-heavy stories through raw, first-person journeys. If you like coming-of-age arcs, epic stakes, and human struggles in unreal worlds, you're in the right place!

I’m originally from Oxfordshire, England, now living in North Carolina with my wild little toddler and our very chill (and very spoiled) dog, Jasper. I’ve loved fantasy for as long as I can remember—drawn in by the magic, the grit, and the heart at the center of it all.

I studied game design for a bit, then pivoted into software engineering to pay the bills. But somewhere in between code and chaos, I started writing stories—and once I did, I couldn’t stop. Fast forward to now, I’ve written 13 novels across three trilogies and a standalone, with plenty more on the way.