For 312 years the rotstorm has blighted the ruins of the Ferron Empire.

Born of an unholy war between gods themselves, it scours the land with acid mists and deadly lightning, spawning twisted monstrosities from its nightmarish depths.

On the Stormwall, the men and women of the Stormguard maintain their vigil - eyes sharp, blades sharper - defending the Undal Protectorate from the worst of the rotstorm's corruption.

But behind the stormfront, something is stirring, kindling the embers of an ancient conflict and a plan to kill a god.

Will Stormguard steel be enough to meet the coming tempest?

***

As the children of the storm carve a bloody swathe across the Northern Marches, the whitestaffs - the Protectorate's healers and sages - have fled, retreating to their island citadel of Riven.

Their withdrawal has weakened the realm, and worse, their absence is a death sentence for Floré's daughter Marta. Skein-sick, Marta wastes away from the terrible magic she has inherited from her father and only the whitestaffs have the knowledge that might save her.

When Flore is dispatched to reason with the whitestaffs, to bring them back into the fold, she seizes the chance. Her mission could save both the protectorate and her child. But on the island of Iskander, caged and chained, she will only discover the worst betrayal.

Ian Green is a writer from Northern Scotland with a PhD in epigenetics. His fiction has been widely broadcast and performed, including winning the BBC Radio 4 Opening Lines competition and winning the Futurebook Future Fiction Prize. His short fiction has been published by Londnr, Almond Press, OpenPen, Meanjin, Transportation Press, The Pigeonhole, No Alibi Press, Minor Lits, and more.

@ianthegreen www.ianthegreen.com