Aether and Iron

For fifty years, the Bitter Narrows have bled. Caught in a brutal civil war between the magic-wielding autocrats of Concord and the fiercely nationalist forces of Bastion, the innocent have paid the highest price. Garrath, a battle-hardened Resistance Fighter, and Theron, a devoted Soldier, have spent their lives fighting a grueling guerrilla war against arcane supremacy and drone strikes. But when they intercept a high-priority enemy train, they don't find standard supplies. They find advanced, unidentifiable mechanical parts—and the terrifying realization that Concord's immortal Wizards are building something unprecedented. What begins as a border skirmish escalates into a desperate, continent-spanning investigation. To uncover the truth, Garrath and Theron must rely on a fractured network of unlikely allies: a brilliant spy operating deep behind enemy lines as a tavern songbird, and a half-elf torn between his human allegiances and his isolationist kin. As they dig deeper into the heart of enemy territory, they realize the war is no longer just about who rules the realm. The 500-year reign of the Wizards has pushed the world to the brink, and the mysterious machine they are assembling threatens to rewrite the rules of war entirely. With time running out, this fragile alliance must risk everything to expose the conspiracy before absolute power silences the resistance forever. In a conflict where magic and machinery collide, the greatest weapon isn't a spell or a blade—it's the truth.