Showing results by author "Jon Kiln" in All Categories

Jerold’s guiding job was supposed to be straightforward: keep the caravan alive, tolerate Jin’s theatrics, and reach Pemberton in one piece. But when the group is forced to cut through the infamous Fernwood, things start to unravel. The forest is dense, the air is too quiet, and something—or someone—is watching. Rumors say the People of the Ferns don’t take kindly to outsiders. Jerold’s not sure if he believes in forest spirits or hidden tribes, but he does believe in getting paid. Now, with tensions rising and odd things stirring in the trees, he’s beginning to suspect this ...

After decades of scraping by with whatever work the galaxy offers, Crix Nakato finally has his own ship—a temperamental ex-courier vessel with one dead engine and enough quirks to match its world-weary new owner. When a routine delivery leads him to a derelict ship harboring the sole survivor of a family massacre, Crix faces a choice that will challenge everything he thought he wanted. With a nine-year-old stowaway now aboard his ship and dangerous cargo in his hold, Crix navigates the murky waters between profit and conscience as Izzy Garcia's irrepressible spirit begins to thaw his ...

When the Tianshu family sails across the sea to Westmark, all they want is to find Bolin—their missing relative with a gift for grand ideas and disastrous business ventures. What they get instead are rain-soaked ambushes, furious creditors, and a city that bites harder than it bargains. Jerold, the streetwise guide they've hired, thought this job would be easy coin. Until he’s stuck wrangling a theatrical heir, a bookish old man, and a girl who’s too sharp by half. With tempers fraying and Bolin’s trail growing colder, the real question isn’t where he is... but whether finding him...

Fleeing into the heart of the Carmine Nebula, Izzy risks everything to find Crix and uncover the truth behind her family's past. With their ship barely holding together and a storm closing in, she leads a daring rescue mission that uncovers lost technology, buried secrets, and a legacy more valuable—and dangerous—than she ever imagined. As alliances form and choices weigh heavy, Izzy must use her wits, courage, and a mysterious creature named Pixel to survive the storm and bring her makeshift family home. But safety is short-lived. When a powerful corporation begins circling Hellix ...

Malthus Vane, a 52-year-old mercenary with a reputation for ruthless efficiency, has spent decades selling his sword to the highest bidder across the fractured kingdoms of Ardenia. Once a respected commander in the royal army, he deserted after witnessing the king’s betrayal of his own people during the Crimson Siege. Now he lives by a simple code: trust no one, complete the contract, survive. When a desperate merchant offers Malthus a fortune in ancient Shadowglass coins to transport his 14-year-old daughter, Elysia Thorne, to the distant port city of Dunmire, he reluctantly accepts. The...

Stranded at Hellix Station on the fringes of the Carmine Nebula, Crix and eleven-year-old Izzy find themselves taking on increasingly perilous courier jobs through unpredictable ion storms after a catastrophic engine failure. Their routine stopover transforms into something more complex when Izzy's explorations with a local mechanic's daughter uncover an underground racing scene, earning her the respect of daredevil pilots—and unwanted attention from station authorities. When Crix embarks on a dangerous three-week salvage mission to settle their mounting debts, disaster strikes as a ...

The frontier has fallen. The kingdom doesn’t know it yet. After thirty years guarding the mountain passes, Commander Doric is the last man standing—wounded, haunted, and alone—when the barbarian horde finally breaks through. With a shattered arm and enemies all around, Doric must cross hostile territory to deliver a warning to the capital before it’s too late. But the road is long and the kingdom’s defenders are gone. Along the way, Doric gathers a desperate band of farmers, smiths, and scared villagers, forging them into a fighting force with nothing but grit, fury, and the hard ...

Two years after Station Zenith, Captain Crix Nakato is once again on the run—this time from a sector-wide manhunt launched by the ruthless Landrake Corporation. Fourteen-year-old Izzy’s mysterious abilities are growing stronger, and with corrupt authorities closing in, Crix must rally a patchwork alliance of old friends, outlaws, and unlikely allies to protect her. But hiding is no longer an option—the only way out is through. As buried secrets surface and the true power of Izzy’s legacy is revealed, Crix faces a terrifying truth: the war they’ve been avoiding may be the one they ...

They came to train. They found a war that began 50,000 years ago. In the swirling crimson mists of the Carmine Nebula, what starts as a routine training mission for Crix Nakato and his navigator protégé, Izzy, turns into a nightmare. A haunting disturbance in the Vermillium network—what Izzy can only describe as screaming—triggers echoes of an ancient threat long thought vanquished. When Pixel, the strange fox-like companion linked to Izzy, begins to change, the danger becomes impossible to ignore. Called back to the heart of the Navigator Collective, Crix must confront a chilling ...

In the shadow of Highcrown’s towering walls, war drums thunder from two fronts—one familiar, one forgotten. Commander Doric, a battle-hardened sentinel dismissed as a relic by the kingdom's council, finds himself racing against time to protect a city besieged by the Khentar and stalked by the far more sinister Grau'gach. As old enemies close in and strange kidnappings unsettle the realm, Doric and the earth-healer Moira uncover a chilling truth: the Grau'gach are not raiding, they’re harvesting bloodlines tied to the kingdom’s ancient founding. Across the mountains, Doric’s former...

Doric, once a soldier of the realm, now travels westward with Moira, a healer mistrusted for her gift, and Nessa, a sharp-eyed girl caught in the storm of war. Together they move through a kingdom teetering on the edge—haunted villages, frightened towns, and a spreading silence in the east. Their path crosses with wandering performers, wary soldiers, and desperate survivors, each bearing pieces of a growing mystery. As tensions mount and battles draw near, Doric finds himself once more thrust into the center of the Kingdom’s defense, this time with far more to protect than orders or ...

Malthus Vane, a 52-year-old mercenary with a ruthless reputation, accepts a small fortune to escort 14-year-old Elysia Thorne to distant Dunmire. Once a respected commander who deserted after royal betrayal, he now lives by a simple code: trust no one, complete the contract, survive. The merchant claims his daughter's mysterious birthmark marks her as heir to a powerful, supposedly extinct noble house. Beneath her fierce independence, Elysia hides extraordinary gifts—trained in forbidden arcanistry and bladework, she can communicate with spectral remnants haunting the blighted lands. As ...

The war is over. But some battles are personal. Months after the dust of battle has settled, Quilon receives a cryptic message: Kirlia lives—but not for long. Bound for a foreign land and a slave market that trades in more than just coin, she’s a prize destined for powerful hands. With time running short, Quilon turns to the only man he trusts to help: Doric, a war hero trying to rebuild a shattered world. Reluctant but bound by old loyalty, Doric joins him on a perilous voyage across storm-wracked seas and into the heart of an unfamiliar empire. What begins as a rescue becomes ...

He promised to protect her. But some promises can break the world. As a forgotten ritual nears completion, Commander Doric is drawn into a web of ancient bloodlines, haunted visions, and a child at the heart of it all. Nessa is more than she seems, and the closer the veil between worlds thins, the more Doric begins to fear what saving her might cost. In a world unraveling, loyalty is no longer clear, and sacrifice may be the only path to salvation. When the final moment comes, his choice will echo far beyond the battlefield, leaving ash where hope once stood.

Bereaved and exiled from his homeland, Ganry ekes out a living as a wandering mercenary. A contract to protect a 15-year-old princess sees him embark on a quest across the kingdom. Confronted with danger at every turn, they get help from some unlikely companions. And Ganry discovers that there is more at stake than his own survival.

When Elysia Thorne reshaped the boundary between worlds, she believed she was saving the realm. She was wrong. Now strange terrors stalk the land—empty-eyed villagers massacring their families, shadow entities clawing through reality’s thinning fabric, and a legendary monster hunter named Merek Bloodmoon leading an army determined to end the young veilbreaker’s life. For Malthus Vane, protecting Elysia was once a matter of coin and oath. Now it’s something darker. The shadow corruption spreading through his veins gives him terrifying power, but each time he uses it, he loses another...

After years of fighting Veil-shattering threats and ancient entities, 16-year-old Elysia Thorne and 54-year-old Malthus Vane are weary, battered, and ready for a break. The world is stable—for now—and the guardians they’ve trained are holding the line. When Elysia receives a weathered letter from a man claiming to be her estranged uncle, Torin Thorne, inviting her to the remote mining town of Red Hollow to settle a family debt, she sees a chance to uncover a piece of her past that isn’t tied to Selene or cosmic destinies. Malthus, grumbling but loyal, tags along, expecting a simple ...

Having reclaimed her throne, Queen Myriam is now desperate to find her missing grandmother. Over Ganry's protests, she embarks on a dangerous rescue mission. But with an unexpected threat, and mysterious forces at work, even Ganry's sword may not be enough to protect her.

Ganry, former mercenary, has pledged his sword to keep Princess Myriam safe. To claim her throne as the rightful heir, Myriam must overcome the usurper once and for all. With Ganry at her side, and friends at her back, their quest for justice begins.