❝this tree was grown with rotted roots.❞ Nerluce is Darkest Shadow. He is that great and terrible entity, prophesied over a thousand years before, more like a hurricane than a man. His hair falls crooked, poorly cut by his family's blade. His fingers curl like claws, stained black by ash and war. Aristide is the Angel of Death. He is that man-made divinity which no prophecy was able to fortell, a monster made of ice and bone. Frost clings to his lashes as blood clings to his palms. CONTENT WARNINGS (16+) Profanity, violence and gore, alcohol and drug usage, non-explicit sexual content, self-destructive actions and suicidal ideation, minor character death, and morally-questionable people doing morally-questionable things. [[WORD COUNT: IN PROGRESS]] COVER BY APHRODITE270

A Cursed Prophecy. A Clash of Wills. A Legacy which should've been destroyed. When whispers reach the ears of the Outer City, speaking of things to come, the Misfits are sent out on a mission to investigate. Their findings? The Necromancer is moving again, and this time he has an even worse plan than before. Ten Crystals. Ten Sigils. Together they make up the defence array surrounding the entire country, but there's a darker side to them. One which should've been forgotten and destroyed along with the array after its job was done. But it wasn't. The task sounds simple enough. Collect and guard the Ten Barrier Crystals. It would've been far simpler, too, if their opponent wasn't the Last Necromancer. (Book Two in the Dragon Rider Series)