Baseborn

The golden statues of Steelhaven stand as a testament to the eternal glory of the empire. But beneath the gold, the bronze is weeping.

As Emperor Valdric withers in a palace filled with the scent of salt and rotting fish to mask his decay, the foundations of the realm begin to crumble. The old myths-that greatness is a birthright and that some are born to rule while others are born to serve-are finally being challenged.

Maren Ashford wants nothing to do with the weight of destiny. A man haunted by the cost of leadership, he seeks only to survive the debris of a collapsing world. But history has a way of finding those who try to hide.

Opposing him is Kharic Stormborn, a force of nature driven by a vengeance that threatens to consume the very people he claims to liberate. As their paths collide, the ultimate question remains: Can a world built on the bones of the baseborn ever truly be free, or is every revolution just the start of a new tyranny?

A gritty, atmospheric exploration of power and the "Great Man" theory of history, BASEBORN combines the visceral realism of historical fiction with the scope of epic fantasy. It is a story for those who ask what happens when the statues are finally toppled and the gods of the old world are revealed to be nothing more than men.