The Architect of Ash

About this book

In the industrialized fantasy city of Kaelen-Dore, society is physically and socially divided: the aristocratic elite live in the suspended, sunlit heights of the Sun-Tiers, while the impoverished masses struggle to survive in the toxic, perpetual twilight of the Gloom-Boroughs. Thirty years ago, a catastrophic engineering failure during the construction of the city's arcane core created this divide. Now, the city's lifeblood—a magical fuel known as Aethel-coal—is failing, threatening to collapse the entire metropolis. Corvan Mael, a reclusive and disgraced former master architect hiding in the slums, discovers a fierce, street-smart orphan named Lydia who possesses an innate, untrained affinity for arcane mechanics. Recognizing her potential, Corvan takes Lydia under his wing, stepping into the role of mentor to secretly train her to do what he cannot: repair the city's dying core. But as a violent class rebellion brews in the soot-choked streets and a ruthless aristocratic regime tightens its grip, Corvan must confront the ghosts of his past. Through dual timelines revealing Corvan's youthful ambitions and the present-day fight for survival, master and apprentice must navigate shifting identities, moral compromises, and a fractured society to save a world on the brink of ruin.

Book details

Genres:

Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Language:

en

Published:

2026-06-25

Content rating:

PG-13