Overthrow- The Demon Queen 1 -

Marble colonnades, soaring stained-glass windows depicting the old gods, fountains that sang with enchanted water. Now the marble was cracked and weeping a black residue. The windows had been shattered and replaced with iron grates. The fountains were dry, their basins filled with ash.

The hooded figure climbed onto the pedestal, unwrapped the God-Killer, and raised it above the Heartstone. Overthrow- The Demon Queen 1

“Keep going!” Kaelen shouted, drawing a short sword he had no intention of using for anything but a last resort. The fountains were dry, their basins filled with ash

The queen materialized on her throne.

Kaelen and Sera followed, their footsteps echoing off the bone dome. The distance to the pedestal seemed to stretch impossibly, the room growing longer with each step. A trap. A spatial distortion. The queen’s defenses were waking up. The queen materialized on her throne

The doors swung open on silent hinges.

Her name was Malachar, and she had conquered the five kingdoms not with armies, but with silence. One by one, the kings had knelt. One by one, the temples had been sealed. And one by one, the people had learned that hope was just another word for disobedience.