Abigail Linhardt
Embrace the darkness
The Season of the Runer Series
Book I: The Trial of Two
The endless road and life of a monster-hunting Runer has gone stale for Tzarik and death is the only alternative. Tired of risking his life for the prejudiced people of Al’Myrah, it’s time to just let go. The only thing that stands in his way: A Runer cannot take his own life, breaking his oath to the dark magic that binds him to the hunt.
When a warlord from the far east threatens her family, Sybal, a young diamond mine heiress with a lavish lifestyle, takes action to protect her family and estate. But when her crime is witnessed, she must stand trial for murder. To save her own life, Sybal calls for a trial by Runing—a dangerous and often fatal pact with unknown magic.
Thrown together by law and dark magic oaths, Tzarik and Sybal find themselves entangled with an eldritch force when a lone necromancer hell-bent on devastation, rises up, and ravages the eastern continents. Tzarik must conquer his desire for his own demise and train the empathic Sybal to save the people from a risen death.
Book II: Sojourn
Fleeing Al’Myrah, Tzarik sails with Sybal as far away from Sharar as they can. Landing on the far eastern continent of Xia, they discover there are no Runers on Xia and a civil war is heating up between the traditionalists and those who believe it is time for Xia to join the ways of the modern world.
A mysterious creed called Wushito culls the monsters without runes or the white blood. Revered or feared, Wushito exists to support the ruler of Xia--the one touched by the White Dragon. But with Runers ashore, their secrets may soon be brought to light and the traditions on which Xia is built will be tipped into chaos.
Put in the middle, Tzarik and Sybal set events into motion they must see through to the end or risk unleashing a malevolent force into the world. However, a shadow from the past appears amidst their new struggle, complicating their sojourn and quest for sanctuary.
Book III: The Eldritch Hunt
After years of torture at the hands of Abigor Sharar, Tarkan seeks opportunities to curry favor with his eldritch god to ascend to Necro’Khan. The power that comes with the mantle might be enough to keep him and Zeva safe for eternity. Tarkan believes he is strong enough to bear the sacrifice his gods demand for such power; to never again kneel in servitude.
​Zeva followed Tarkan for over thirteen years, suffering with him. But he’s never allowed her to pledge her soul to the necrotic scriptures or have the experiences that come with being a young woman her age. Feeling alone, Zeva blindly follows Tarkan to Caerwren. The wild nature of the barbaric clans sweeps her up into its primal embrace, giving her everything she’s wanted and exposing just how strong she could be.
Once back on Al’Myrah, Tzarik implores Tarkan for his aid in finding a way to bring Sybal back. The three journey west where a dark, season’s-long ritual, the Eldritch Hunt, consumes Caerwren in monsters and curses while titanic gods walk the very earth. The necromancer intends to break open the God Deep, where the souls of those unwillingly sacrificed to gods linger in eternal torture. But some on Caerwren would use Tarkan’s hunger for necrotic power and Tzarik’s desperation for their own twisted ends.
Book IV: The Father of Monsters
With the wildling Signar in tow, Tzarik and Sybal track Tarkan to Alika only to find he’s in a race to the mythical Mahit’Nomicon against the would-be sorcerer Abigor Sharar. Now on the hunt for two of the most dangerous sentients to have ever existed, the Runers come closer to finding out that their paths might not have crossed with Sharar’s entirely by chance and the hunters may have in fact been the hunted.
After two decades of study, Sharar finally believes he knows the resting place of the Mahit’Onomicon. Just before he’s sure, an old nemesis appears, stronger and more vengeful than ever before. Armed with the djinn he enslaved long ago, protected by a sell-sword Runer, and informed by a traitorous necromancer, Sharar sees no way he can possibly fall to the revenge-bent Necro’Khan. He will be a sorcerer before the winter cools the desert sands of Alika.
Tarkan is gathering not only Apostles to his side but also unearthing spells and magic that Ishmael began to create one thousand years ago–long before Tarkan thought his father even existed. The more powerful the Necro’Khan becomes, the less he fears Sharar. In fact, Sharar as a sorcerer might be the missing piece he needs to become truly free and enthrone himself as the most powerful sentient on the map.