War of the Twelve
4 primary works
Book 1
None can resist the ravages of time. Knowledge is lost. Memories fade.
But some things must never be forgotten.
Over 400 years ago, twelve great warriors united the beleaguered armies of men and scoured the war-torn lands of evil, pushing the enemy back into the underground pits and caverns from whence they came. To ensure their legacy, each of the Twelve founded fortress monasteries to impart their unique knowledge of war and politics to a select few, the Knights of the Twelve.
But now the last of the Twelve have long since passed from history to legend and the Knights, their numbers dwindling, are harbouring a dark and terrible secret that must be protected at all costs.
Merad Reed has spent half his life guarding a great crater known as the Pit, yearning for some escape from the bleak monotony. Then the arrival of Aldarin, one of the few remaining Knights of the Twelve, sets off a chain of cataclysmic events that will change Reed forever.
To the north, Jelaïa del Arelium, heiress to the richest of the nine Baronies, must learn to navigate the swirling political currents of her father’s court if she hopes one day to take his place. But the flickering flames of ambition hide the shadow of an even greater threat.
And deep within the earth, something is stirring.
Book 2
They Have Returned.
The siege of Arelium has been broken, but only at a great and terrible cost. The Baron has fallen, the unsuspecting victim of an intricate web of lies devised to drive a wedge between Arelium and the coastal Barony of Kessrin.
Merad Reed, scarred and disillusioned, is haunted by the tragic deaths of the men under his command. When all contact is lost with the Old Guard of Morlak, he reluctantly travels north to investigate, only to find the truth is far worse than anything he could have imagined.
After narrowly escaping an attempt on her own life, Jelaïa del Arelium is struggling to understand her emerging abilities, and the crippling addiction that comes with them. The priestesses of Brachyura may hold the answers she seeks, but after years of protecting the secrets of the Twelve can they still be trusted?
Lord Praxis, now acting as Regent, must face the unforeseen consequences of his own machinations when a simple dagger leads him from the shining towers of Kessrin to the tempestuous Sea of Sorrow, and a terrifying new threat.
Meanwhile, somewhere on a dusty road far from civilisation, an ancient demi-god is slowly coming to meet them. He has awoken from decades of slumber to fulfil his one last purpose …
Lay waste to the lands of men.
Book 3
The Pact is Broken.
The legendary demi-gods known as the Twelve are awakening, and they bring with them the knowledge of what was found under the earth: an apocalyptic force of destruction that, if unleashed, will reduce the nine Baronies to ash.
Their one, slim hope of salvation lies deep in the Barony of Talth, a land now firmly in the hands of the greylings. Jelaïa del Arelium and Derello del Kessrin must marshal their weakened armies and lead them far to the north in a desperate attempt to win back what was taken.
Merad Reed, Captain of the Old Guard, sacrificed his own freedom so that others could escape. He now languishes in an underground prison beneath Morlak keep at the mercy of Mithuna, Third of the Twelve, and her knights. The keep is impregnable; no one has managed to pierce its defences in over a hundred years.
No one save for the man who calls himself Jeffson. Once a criminal and a murderer, now a simple manservant, Jeffson may have a way to rescue his friend, but only by returning to a life he had vowed to leave behind, a life ravaged by pain and loss. Does he have the strength to reopen old wounds without losing himself to his sordid past?
Book 4
