The Empire's Ruin

The Annurian Empire, once a bastion of power, teeters on the brink of collapse. Its ancient advantages, including the instantaneous travel granted by the kenta gates, are defunct, and the elite ranks of the Kettral have been decimated by internal strife. As the empire crumbles, a desperate gambit unfolds: one of the last surviving Kettral must embark on a perilous voyage beyond the known world. This journey will take them through a landscape that warps and poisons all life, in search of the fabled nesting grounds of the giant war hawks—the empire's last hope. Meanwhile, a former monk turned cunning con-artist may hold the key to reactivating the kenta gates, a secret that could save millions. But time is running out. Deep in the empire's southern reaches, an ancient, god-like race begins to stir, their awakening threatening to reshape the Annurian Empire forever, if anyone can survive their reemergence.