The Unseen Hand

Prologue

Prologue

Port City of Reyza

Venedi, Seventh of Sund'im, 445 A'A'diel

With nightfall, the grinding of wheels over the well-trodden cobbles and the harsh cries of merchants faded away. In the sky, Aeppia, the largest of Laremlis' three moons rose first, gibbous and bright, while her sisters Aeliah and Aeiad followed suit as envious, dim crescents.

Bathed in moonlight, Reyza's architectural jumble acquired a harsh ambiguity–as if nature and all of its pleasantries had been purposely shut out. Edifices clung to the cliff sides like barnacles, stacked one upon the other on ancient masonry that defied the maws of time. Everywhere there was some fragment of whitewashed ruin harking back to the destruction the Three Sisters had wrought.

In a month's time, the seventeen-year alignment of the moons would pull the tides into the low-lying areas of the city. Even the most accomplished elementalists with their earth-shifting spells would not be able to halt the ocean's devastation. The stone world that Reyzans believed to be so unshakable would inevitably crumble and wash out to sea.

Thank you for taking a chance on our book!

If you enjoyed this chapter, please take the time to comment and vote.

We love stars and promise to answer any questions.

-Narcisse & Marzio.