tales of change and justice
The Scions and Shadows Series by Dax MurrayIN AHNLISEN, OLD GODS PLOT REVENGE on those that displaced them, hidden cities hold ancient secrets, kings and priests vie for control of powerful relics, forgotten realms rise from ashes, spies and assassins of murky loyalties operate from the shadows, rebels and revolutionaries covertly arm themselves for discord, and oracles and scryers predict the rebirth of fallen immortals.The world of SCIONS AND SHADOWS is one of magic and intrigue, spanning centuries of political conspiracies, divine machinations and conflicts of ethics, morality, and conscience. Swords and spells clash chaotically, forcing people to decide between what they want, and what is right.SCIONS AND SHADOWS is a series of novels and novellas that share the same universe. There is an overarching plot, but each book can be read as a stand-alone and in any order. They are listed below in chronological order.
Crossroads of Fate
Thrown from their ivory towers, a group of magical researchers must save their world from would-be conquerers. A progression fantasy serial.
Shades and Silver
The magic of the Ástfíður keeps their land safe, but two members of this secretive clan find themselves unable to perform their duties as they should.
Stars and Soil
The prince wants her hand; but a noblewoman claims her heart. She must decide if she will be a queen or a sabotuer.
Scorched Scars
Kegan's clan was wiped out years ago, but they thought they left that pain in their past. When a secret mission to rescue a missing comrade takes Kegan through their old him, old scars reopen.
Shrouded Sight
Three qatu's gifted with Sight must find a way to survive in the desert before they sink in the socrching sands.
Smoke and Steel
One of the last royals of Sua, Saritrah will do anything to reclaim the throne. But when her brother plans to destroy Sua if he can't have it, she must make some uncomfortable alliances. Sometimes, loving your kingdom means giving itup.
Shackles and Shards
Sresca has always wanted to be the Rose of Oblivion and serve her goddess directly. But when she fails the trial, she must find a new goal. But when a former noble forces her to impersonate a lost princess, she will do anything to save the republic, and herself, from those who want to turn back the clock.
Crossroads of Fate
A group of magical researchers stumble into a conspiracy to destabilize not just the governments of the region, but the aclaere--the wellspring of magic--itself. Can they save the refugees of imperial conquest without the gods themselves dying as their worshippers relocate?A fantasy web serial currently in season one.
Shades and Silver
Stories of identity, doubt, and belongingThe birthright of every Ástfríður is to know each metal in the earth, command it, bend it to their desires. To hear metal singing, some of it waiting just beneath the surface, so much of it deeper in the earth. If they wanted, they knew they could pluck that metal from the earth, melt it with a thought, and shape it as they pleased with a breath of air and their will.Each Ástfríður must choose which metal they would wear upon their heads, denoting the path they would walk. They craft beautiful horns to wear on their brow, forged with the metal they wish to identify with. But Britt does not know if they can choose the path they want, if they can overcome a past which has stolen their identity. The day has come for them to choose and they have no idea if they have any right to even try to. And Astrid has never felt the pull of the metal at all Wearing a forged circlet and horn, they try to navigate a world that they feel has rejected them, all the while fearing someone will learn their secret.The Veil of the Ástfríður has kept them hidden from the world and safe from intruders. Yet Britt and Astrid feel they are imposters in their own homes.
Stars and Soil
A Readers' Favorite 5 Star Book
Amazon #1 LGBTQ+ Fantasy Bestselling Book
2024 Indie Ink Award Finalist: Gay and Lesbian Representation; Disability Representation by a Disabled AuthorDie as a queen or live as a rebel?
Caitlin Peddigree faces a dire choice: accept a loveless marriage to the crown prince, or die as a traitor to the throne. While Caitlin still grieves the death of her wife, a rebellion simmers in Fayn, the streets filled with cries for the monarchy’s fall and the rise of democracy. When Caitlin unwittingly befriends a rebel leader, she believes she may have a way out of her unwanted relationship.Marrying the prince would protect her family’s fortune, but can she also be an informant for the rebellion? Caught in a tangled web of political intrigue and court gossip, Caitlin treads a treacherous path, made more dangerous when a spirited new lady arrives at court and ignites a new fire in Caitlin’s heart.But power in Fayn is ever-shifting. Whispers of magic and long-forgotten gods stir beneath the surface. Religious orders conspire against each other. New nobles scramble for power and old bloodlines seethe with resentment. The rebellion fractures into factions as they bicker over strategy. But underneath it all and unbeknown to most, dark and ancient forces are waiting, watching, and plotting. Surrounded on all sides, Caitlin finds herself a pawn in a deadly game.But she must decide for herself: remain a prisoner of her circumstances—or reclaim her own life. And she must decide fast, otherwise the flames of revolution may be put out by a force far darker than a tyrannical king.Stars and Soil is the exciting first novel in the Scions and Shadows series from Dax Murray. A finalist for the 2024 Indie Ink Awards for “Writing the Future We Need: Best Disability Representation by a Disabled Author” and “Writing the Future We Need: Best Gay and Lesbian Representation,” Stars and Soil is perfect for those who like their fantasy full of shifting alliances, deep worldbuilding, backstabbing and betrayal, and sapphic and disability representation set in a magical, queer-normative world.Note: This book contains LGBTQ+ characters who use gender-neutral pronouns such as they/them/their, xie/xir/xirs, and more.
Scorched Scars
When Kegan escaped the poachers that had hunted their clan and turned their village to ruins, they thought that they could find safety away from the verdant forests of their home and in the bustle of the capital city. But years later, it seems like the hunters have taken up the chase once again. Now a member of the rebellion forces, Kegan must go back to the woods they were born in, not to visit the graves of their family or to stalk the returning poachers, but to find a lost comrade and and determine what happened to the rebellion's missing spy. But time is not on Kegan's side as the poachers creep up on them from behind and the King's Sheild closes in on them from the front.Will Kegan heal the long festering scars of their past or will their fears lead to the downfall of the entire revolutionary movement? SCORCHED SCARS is set during the events of STARS AND SOIL but can be read in any order.
Shrouded Sight
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Smoke and Steel
At the Crossroads of TomorrowBeing one of the youngest of the Sua royals never stopped Saritrah from scheming to take the throne. But violent insurrectionists shattered those plans when they stormed the palace and decimated her family.In the years since, she has amassed an army and will return to claim her crown. However, Ashur, her one remaining sibling, has done the same, and she must act soon if she's to secure her prize before he snatches it from her claws.After Ashur razes the Temple of Yshuld, the surviving Seers promise her the power to ensure victory. But it will mean abandoning her legion to venture into the endless desert and locate a lost city.Soon, however, she suspects that none of the women are who they claim to be, even to each other. One woman cryptically alludes to a paradisical past; another awakens in the night plagued by dreams of a frightening future; the last woman never speaks. But the more she questions her new companions' motives, the more she must question her own.Is the Oracle's vision of calamity an omen of what will happen if she fails to claim her crown? Or a promise of what will come if she succeeds?
Shackles and Shards
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🌓 Death Magic 🌓
🌓 Shadow Magic 🌓
🌓 Lost Royalty 🌓
🌓 Revolutionaries 🌓
🌓 Mystical Trials 🌓
🌓 Sisters Who Are Stronger Together 🌓
🌓 Disaster Sapphics 🌓
🌓 Mistaken Identities 🌓A Priestess of Death or a Bringer of Life?Sresca has lived her whole life in service of Dana—the Goddess of Death and Lady of Sorrow—following in the footsteps of her sister, the High Priestess. Yet she yearns to free herself and step out of her sister's shadow. When a former duke comments on Sresca's resemblance to the lost princess, a plan is hatched to take down the new democratic government and restore the monarchy with Sresca as the new Tsarina. But Dana doesn't let her children abandon their vows so easily, and duke's plans may be darker than Sresca can even imagine.Complicating matters even further is the strange winged creature that has made Sresca's mind its home—a creature that has memories of Sresca that can't possibly be true and whispers of vengeance for deeds Sresca can't remember, leaving her wondering if she is wrong about everything, even her own past. Sresca must unravel the mystery of her identity before opposing forces meet upon the battlefield otherwise her home—and her future—will be destroyed.