The Wards Will Fall

Death may wait beyond the wards, but a worse fate lurks within.

A body shared, a doomed journey, & an ancient terrible secret will bind two spirits together and forever shape the currents of magic.

THE WARDS WILL FALL is getting a special edition! Come follow the Kickstarter pre-launch page to vote on stretch goals, get early bird specials and ensure you don't miss the campaign!

THE WARDS WILL FALL is currently early releasing serially for newsletter subscribers, with draft chapters posted every Monday. Once this finishes in late 2026, the early draft chapters will be stubbed behind a paywall for paid subscribers only.

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Book Summary

Since the downfall of the mage empire over a thousand years ago, the country of Talmany has been haunted by hyssil: ravenous spirits that can corrupt, kill, or possess humans. Warders, seers, and theurgists capable of using protective sigils are in charge of keeping the hyssil at bay despite the dangerous spirits stubbornly continuing their push further north. It’s been over a century since the last sigil failure, dulling the hyssil into uneasy memories.

Unfortunately, for seer Maxwell Darrow, these memories have recently resurfaced.

Stationed at South Point garrison, Maxwell is a conscripted government seer providing his magical Sight to a garrison theurgist. He’s survived three years, determined to complete his contract so he can finally escape far from any hyssil threat.

But when a swarm of hyssil overwhelms South Point, Maxwell's life is overturned in a single, terrible night. His garrison is overrun, his fellow warders dead or possessed. Talmany’s wards are suddenly at risk, threatening the lives of everyone.

Driven by determination and grief, it’s up to Maxwell to overcome myth and deadly memories made reality to save Talmany from devastation by seeking help from the mysterious and magically shielded country of Lathuel. But as his journey becomes complicated after discovering a hyssil has bound itself to him, Maxwell must now find answers before his own soul’s corruption kills him—as if seeking aid from a mythical land teetering on revolution wasn’t enough of a challenge.

But the call to the north is unrelenting, drawing the spirits ever closer. And time is running out...

Praise for The Wards Will Fall

"It genuinely made me fall back in love with reading when I'd been in a slump, with how it taps into the energies of Robin Hobb and of Final Fantasy, of queer survival and social upheaval. For all that it reminded me of all the things that made me fall in love with fantasy, there's nothing quite like it."
—Beta reader

“This is a story both of a desperate expedition into lost land and the examination of where alienation and love meet in our hearts. The Wards Will Fall evokes the setting of books like Sabriel, while also setting off in its own direction with its magic and characters. The themes of the story feel well connected to our modern plights, while the story itself is a fascinating journey of isolation, consent, questioning, and self-discovery.”
—Beta reader

Credits

This project is still in progress and will be professionally edited prior to its anticipated 2027 release.