Arthur was fifty, tired, and forgotten. He died in a sterile hospital room, a man who had played it safe and lost everything. But death wasn't the end. He wakes up in the body of an eight-year-old boy named Kaelen, in a world where the dirt is stained with blood and the "Middle Ages" are just beginning to crawl out of the dark.
Sold to the Order of the Obsidian Veil, Kaelen is forged into a weapon. But unlike the other orphans, Kaelen has the mind of a man who knows the value of a second chance. As the world transitions from tribal warring to civilized empires, Kaelen moves through the shadows, caught between a forbidden love with a deadly rival and a conspiracy that threatens to undo the very civilization they are building.

      The peace didn't last. On the fifth day, the sky roared. Three of Silas's Steam-Hawks—brass-winged aircraft powered by high-pressure Aetheria dived from the clouds.


      The Hawks didn't drop bombs; they dropped Harvesters. These were spider-like automatons designed to lock onto Aetheria signatures. Five of them hit the snow, their mechanical legs whirring as they sprinted toward Kaelen and Lyra.


      The Frost-Walker let out a defiant roar. It slammed its massive fists into the ground, sending a shockwave of ice and stone toward the machines. But the Harvesters were fast, leaping over the debris, their saw-blade mandibles spinning.


Chapter 45 - Chapter 45: The Steel Predators