Of War and Ruin

To all those we’ve lost. Vir’uva niassa du i denir viël are altinua. Må Heraya tael du ia’sine ael. Indil vir anarai andin. We will love you in this life and always. May Heraya take you into her arms. Until we meet again. Contents Also by Ryan Cahill Reading Order The Story So Far Note Foreword Prologue 1. Oaths and Blood 2. Found and Lost 3. Once More Into the Dark 4. War Under the Mountain 5. Arbiter 6. Spirit of the Woods 7. Sleeping Dragon 8. Al’Nasla 9. A Shared Pain 10. Echoes of Deeds Long Done 11. City of Three Kings 12. The Paths Not Yet Taken 13. Whispers of a God 14. The Path Ahead 15. A Queen, A Man, and A Killer 16. To Make a God Shake 17. Oh, Brother, My Brother 18. The Exile 19. Svidar’Cia 20. The Paths Once Walked 21. On the Brink 22. Friends Close, Enemies Closer 23. The Darkness Twists 24. Faith 25. Water to Blood, Blood to Bone 26. To Know Your Place 27. Shield of My Father 28. Show Them Who You Are 29. The L Word 30. The Saviour 31. Honour 32. An Oath Fulfilled 33. A Path of Your Own Making 34. Onwards 35. The Pain in Waiting 36. Berona 37. One Last Request 38. Blood for Blood 39. Lost and Found 40. True Colours 41. Where Loyalties Lie 42. Chasing Rumours 43. Trust Me 44. Blood and Oaths 45. The Wolf Within 46. It Is Sweet and Proper 47. The Enemy of the Enemy is Not My Friend 48. The Calm Before 49. A Burden Shared 50. Family Ties 51. The Three Sisters 52. Dragonbound by Fire 53. Broken by Death 54. Family by Choice 55. Strings and Chains 56. Before the Fire Comes the Spark 57. War is Not Beautiful 58. Sowing Chaos 59. Make Whole What is Half 60. Tales and Truths 61. The Past is Now 62. The Storm, it Waits 63. Choices and Fate 64. The Scars of Time 65. Webs Upon Webs 66. By Blade and By Blood 67. A Path and a Purpose 68. Home is Carried Wherever You Go 69. The Cost of a Crown 70. To Learn Your Place 71. By Our Own Will 72. The Wheel Turns 73. The Fate of Lies and Loss 74. The Past, it Ripples 75. The Veil Thins, the Hand Reaches 76. Plans Long Laid 77. Monsters at the Gates and Within 78. And So it Begins 79. Spirits and Fire 80. Chaos 81. The Time is Now 82. Of War and Ruin 83. Faith and Will 84. Children of the Chainbreaker 85. The Path 86. The Exile and The Huntress 87. Tremors of Change 88. The Bound and The Broken Epilogue Thank You! Please Read! Book 4! Glossary Acknowledgments Also by Ryan Cahill The Bound and The Broken Novels Of Blood and Fire Of Darkness and Light Of War and Ruin Novellas The Fall The Exile Reading Order The reading order for The Bound and The Broken series is a highly contested thing. So, keeping that in mind, I have decided to provide you with two suggested reading orders. Both are named after sword movements within the series. If you prefer to jump headfirst into a world, letting the action and high stakes consume you, then the svidarya is the path for you. If you are the kind of reader who prefers a slower burn, immersing yourself completely in a world, learning the intricacies and terminology as you go, then the fellensír is the correct course. SVIDARYA The Fall Of Blood and Fire Of Darkness and Light The Exile Of War and Ruin FELLENSÍR Of Blood and Fire The Fall Of Darkness and Light The Exile Of War and Ruin If you haven’t read The Fall – the prequel novella to The Bound and The Broken – yet, I would very much encourage you to do so. It’s not necessary, but it will greatly enhance your experience when reading Of Darkness and Light. You can grab a FREE digital copy by signing up to my mailing list at: https://www.ryancahillauthor.com/signup The Story So Far The following is meant only as a quick, high-level refresher of the events in The Fall, Of Blood and Fire, Of Darkness and Light, and The Exile rather than a full synopsis. As such, I will gloss over many important occurrences and characters during this recap, and some – in a few cases – are not mentioned at all. I will try to catch you up on the events and characters that are the most important to Of War and Ruin This refresher will contain spoilers. THE FALL Every four hundred years, since the dawn of time, the Blood Moon – a time when the veil between gods and mortals is at its thinnest – casts its light over the world. But when the Blood Moon rose, in the year two-six-eight-two After Doom, everything changed. It was on this night that The Order was betrayed by those who had sworn to protect it, and their fortress city of Ilnaen was laid siege by the forces of Fane Mortem – a mage of immense power. Upon discovering the betrayal, Alvira Serris, the Archon of the Draleid – warriors who were soulbound to great dragons – attempted to ensure the safety of The Order’s council. But Alvira arrived in the council chamber to discover that her closest friend, and First Sword of the Draleid, Eltoar Daethana, had aligned himself with the traitors. In the ensuing battle, Eltoar, with the aid of two Fades – dark servants of the traitor god, Efialtír – and his dragon, Helios, slew Alvira and the dragon to which she was bound. Feeling the sickly Taint of blood magic radiating from the city of Ilnaen, the Knights of Achyron – a pious order of knights sworn to the warrior god, Achyron – travelled through the Rift to drive back the forces of the Shadow. But