Mark Collins

Riven Calyx Mark Collins

In a world where wizards have been banished by a king seeking peace, three lives are drawn together...and torn apart.

Mordrak has served King Tell for years, fighting his war to unite Escavia under one banner, one lord. Now, the task is almost completed, with only a few cities left to conquer. But Nan-Enn proves hard to subjugate, and even after victory, Mordrak is haunted by those who defended the city.

Commissioned by his equally-effected king, Mordrak sets off on a quest to find a wizard, someone who can destroy the enchantment that hangs over Nan-Enn and those who fought there. But wizards were outlawed years ago, and Mordrak fears the only ones who can help them are very ones who might've caused this curse in the first place.

Mordrak's sister, Adriselle, has lived all her live as a proper noblewoman, waiting for her family to marry her off, but she jumps at the chance to tag along with Mordrak. Soon, she discovers more to her world than she ever dreamed, encountering bandits, troglodytes, wyverns, and elves. Snatched half a world away by a wizard who might have his own agenda, she worries that she may never see her brother--or the Escavia she knew--ever again.

Meanwhile, Mordrak's only hope lies with a wizard's apprentice who would rather see him dead. The king may need a wizard, but do wizards need a king? Or even want to help?

The first in a series of chronicles set in Escavia, Riven Calyx tells of a fight against evil in the face of deception and darkness, selfishness and pain. Does hope even stand a chance?