by
Six centuries since a global revolution and a devastating series of plagues and famines shattered modern civilization, humanity now struggles for survival. In the small village of Klen, even basic literacy and cultural knowledge have faded into obscurity, entrusted solely to the memory of the esteemed Guardian of the Word.
The arrival of a foundling—an abandoned child named Lanya, escaped from a distant city the people of Klen didn’t even know existed—threatens to upend their existence. The child brings the shocking realization of a broader world that exists where remnants of the lost knowledge from the Before Time are preserved.
Determined to resurrect the fallen civilization's wisdom, the passionate and headstrong apprentice to the Guardian, Kallian Dorn, sets out to Lanya's city. But his reckless actions could ultimately shatter the very foundations of belief held sacred by the people of Klen. As boundaries blur and old truths crumble, an exhilarating battle for truth and survival unfolds, forever altering the destiny of their shattered world.
Publisher: Independently Published
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Tropes: Born Hero, Chosen One, Farmer to Hero, FTL, Library of Secrets, Post-Apocalyptic
Word Count: 86,586
Setting: Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
Tropes: Born Hero, Chosen One, Farmer to Hero, FTL, Library of Secrets, Post-Apocalyptic
Word Count: 86,586
Setting: Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
“What if I refuse?”
The words came out before he could stop them. He didn't want to be an oracle, or even an apprentice. He wanted things to be as they had been. Caring for the vegetable gardens, spending his time daydreaming and wandering and skinnydipping in the lake. No way did he want that kind of responsibility, even if he felt worthy of it, which he didn’t.
He expected Syra, or the other oracles, to respond sternly. To his surprise, they laughed, not in mockery but in understanding.
“It’s not that you couldn’t refuse, Kallian,” Syra said, her voice gentle. “It’s just that you don’t.”
“You know what I’ll do?”
She nodded.
READ MORE“So you’re forcing me to become the apprentice.” A sense of desperation rose in him, a desire to flee, not just from this shadowed room with its eerie statues, but from Klen itself. Climb the fences, escape alone into the wilderness beyond. Taking his chances with what lay out there seemed infinitely preferable to this. “If you know what I’ll do, isn’t that the same thing as my having no choice?”
“I know it seems that way. But witnessing a man act, and forcing him to act, aren’t the same thing. The distinction might seem unimportant. Either way, the action is accomplished. But to the man himself, there is an enormous difference. All the difference in the world.”
COLLAPSE
