When Kingdoms Fall

Contents Content Warning Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 Chapter 70 Chapter 71 Chapter 72 Chapter 73 Chapter 74 Chapter 75 Epilogue Authors Note Acknowledgments Pronunciation Guide Magic Systems About the Author When Kingdoms Fall Book One of the When Kingdoms Fall Series Copyright © 2023 by Callie Dahl All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book’s scanning, uploading, and distribution are considered theft of the author’s intellectual property. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Cover Illustrated by Alice Maria Power Cover Design and Interior Formatting by Whimsy Book Cover Graphics Map by Inkarnate Edited by Second Pass Editing ISBN: 979-8-9865648-0-7 www.CallieDahlAuthor.com Content Warning Please note: This book contains explicit content and dark elements that may be triggering to some. It includes mature language, deceased family members, sex and mild nudity, religious extremism, graphic violence and gore, death, physical violence and mutilation, past trauma, drinking and a brief mention of substance abuse. Not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. For the ones who let their light die out. Wake up. It’s time to light a match and burn, baby, burn. One Willa “Bring him back.” Those three words were a broken whisper. Hollow. Willa finally surrendered to the pain and let go of the waves of emotion barreling through her. The thin, white nightgown she wore was soaked all the way through from the rain. Her feet squelched in the mud as she rocked back and forth, hugging herself while she cried. She hadn’t even bothered to put shoes on when she’d left the confines of Traifton. Brushing away fresh tears, she turned her back to the deity who had turned his back on their realm five hundred years ago. A god who had helped create a curse to taunt and hunt mortals. She surveyed the sleeping town of Traifton while taking in the fresh scent of wet grass around her. It was against the council’s rules to leave the tall walls of the trading town without permission or an escort. And it was dangerous to be out here so close to the Wylan Woods. To be caught outside the walls was cause for punishment by the head of the council, Lord Nalore, and his flock of zealots. Silver helmets glittered beneath the rain and torchlights as Traifton’s sentries paced the fortress built around their homes for protection. Willa’s mouth twisted into a defiant smile. They hadn’t noticed her slip past the gate. She could have said it was good fortune, but she had done this more times than she could count. It was becoming too easy to do so. Too tempting to find refuge between the walls made by men and the magical wall made by the old gods. She knew she would feel lighter out here amongst the rolling hills and tall grass. And despite the ache in her chest and burning in her throat and eyes, she could finally take a full breath. A breath of clean, natural air. One without the smells of rotting fish, sea salt, and molding rooftops. A snap of branches sounded behind her. Willa spun back towards the statue of Velithor as four ravens pushed out from the misted wall of magic. Her mouth fell open as they flew out of the tainted woodlands. From where she stood, they looked like ordinary ravens. Untainted, compared to some of the horrors the watchmen had killed and shown to the town as a warning. She followed their flight as they pumped their glistening black wings to pass over her head. They barely spared a glance at her below. Instead, they flew together towards Traifton’s walls, calling out to one another in sharp and crass caws as they did. As they passed the guards on the wall, arrows were released, and one by one, they hit the birds. Willa’s body stiffened as they all plummeted from the sky. She shrank back towards the statue of Velithor to hide from the sentries now looking in her direction. They would be hyper-aware of any movement now. She should have grabbed her black cloak. It would have done well to hide her bright auburn hair. It was a beacon of light compared to the muted greens and browns of the surrounding hills. She stepped behind Velithor’s large, scaled leg and watched the walls. Funny that she was finding refuge under the deity she had cursed minutes before. The guards were shouting to one another now. Her nerves seized as the watchtower’s beacon was lit. Signaling movement in the Wylan Woods to the sleepy seaside town. As flames grew from the watchtower, the hair on the back of her neck stood to attention. A low, warbled call crackled above Willa, numbing her mind and body with icy fear. It was