In The Realm of War & Whispers, power is not subtle.
It issues commands.
The king of Scotara searches for what he believes will secure his kingdom’s future—a healer spoken of in rumor and fear, a woman said to be able to stand victorious against death itself. Whether such power is magic, myth, or something far more dangerous, he does not intend to leave the question unanswered.
And so, the Hunters ride.
They come at the king’s command, black-cloaked and relentless, their approach announced by the slow, steady beat of drums that carry across forest and field alike. When the drums sound, villages know what they mean. Someone will be taken. Sometimes more than one. Always without mercy.
Healers practice openly in Leighfeld, as they always have. Herb-scribes walk among them, studying the natural world, recording what grows, what heals, what harms. Knowledge itself has not been outlawed—but it has become a thing of interest, weighed and measured by those who fear what it might conceal.
Elara is one such herb-scribe. Trained to observe, to record, and to advise, she has learned that understanding the land is not the same as wielding power. Yet when the drums begin to sound outside the village of Birkfell, truth proves irrelevant. Fear decides what reason will not.
Beneath the Hunter’s Shadow opens a trilogy where obedience is demanded, healers are gathered by force, and survival may depend on knowing when to run—and when to listen to voices older than kings.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing glimpses of this realm: its rulers, its hunters, its healers, and the quiet choices that decide who is taken… and who is left behind.
Because when the drums begin, it is already too late.
Watch for more about Beneath the Hunter’s Shadow, book one of The Realm of War & Whispers.
Hugs
Donna
