Oliver D'Alton
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Empyryon
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The Emperor, a bloody usurper of the Archaki Kingdom, rules the land with an iron fist. His winged Hussars swoop on the villages every five years and steal the boy-children for his armies. A group of conspirators from the village of Wacza enlist the aid of a mysterious hermit to combat the tyranny. Together they create a golem, a soulless killer, to slaughter and beat back the Hussars. Everything changes.
Colonel Kuntz, leader of the Hussars, falls in love with Natasha Archaki and, with a price on his head, they flee to join the northern alliance that is at war with the Emperor. Together with a small group of other fugitives they face the perils of the journey through the fearsome Wood of the Suicides, the territory of the fierce isolationist Hadre and must outrun the murderous White Wolves who pursue them in their quest for freedom.
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Startled by the sound of a throaty intake of breath she turned back to the golem. She found herself staring into hollows of hell. The golem had opened its eyes.​
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The snow swirled and the trees wailed throughout the night. The morning brought a liquid sun to a limpid sky and a breathless hush suffused the Wood of the Suicides. An ominous hush as forlorn as the nerve-wracking wailing.​
His sudden appearance alerted the foul figure crouched over the dismembered rat. It, or rather he, looked up with a startled snarl, rat guts hanging from his mouth. Cagnacci took the whole scene in with a glance…
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Surveying the scene in front of him Kuntz felt the familiar rush of adrenaline as he took in the waving banners of the battalions, the sunlight glinting on lance points, halberds, swords, helmets and breastplates as well as the sheen of the horses. The columns stretched to the horizon. A light dust shimmered in the air, touched with gold by the morning sun.
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