The Blood of Tal

THE CONTINUATION OF "THE DEAD LANDS OF EDES" BY SOFYA SHIMANSKAYA!
The only unfair fight is the one in which you were defeated.

Lucius Edera has lost his magical gift. Now he is nobody: a plebeian, a cripple, an exile who has left his own home. But with loss came something else as well — power over the Frost. And his maimed body must contain the Great Spirit, which slowly eats away at his will from within.

Lucius renounced Edes and chose exile of his own accord. The blood of Tal runs in his veins, but even among the nomads he remains a stranger. Together with Orkho, he must save the North from famine and collapse, challenge the witches of mighty Zena, and undermine from within the Republic whose magic is destroying the very fabric of the world. Two conduits of the Great Spirits are almost an unstoppable force. But strength alone is never enough. A future cannot be built on ashes.

Rebellion is thickening in Edes. Those who were once close become sworn enemies. A daughter turns against her mother, and a loyal soldier against his own state. Each one has secrets, and the price for them will be paid with other people's lives. And above all of it sounds the hungry call of the Dead Land: a void as greedy as Chaos itself, more terrible than death.

So why does Lucius feel warmth in his chest when the thin strings of the Dead Land touch his fingers?

"The Blood of Tal" is a story about power and betrayal, about nomads and nobility, about cunning witches and mad shamans. About magic and the price of freedom. Here, the atmosphere of republican Rome, northern cultures, and several magical systems intertwine into a single world where salvation always comes at too high a price.

Sofya Shimanskaya writes vividly, sharply, and swiftly: she does not leave the reader watching from the sidelines, but draws them into a dangerous and mesmerizing journey. On her blog with 130,000 subscribers, she speaks about the depth of emotions and attachments, inspiring readers to accept fate's challenge and move toward adventure.

Fans of the musical "Epic" and the "Gladiator" film series will love it.
Cover by the well-known youth artist acramitch.