Stars rain from the sky. They shatter the earth, and their ichor fills her wounds. Mire. The sacred substance which either kills or transforms any living thing it touches. That which remakes the world. All eighteen-year-old Nikessa's ever wanted was to be a chryshunter--one of those whose work it is to seek out and dig up the magical fossilized remains of ancient mirefallen beasts. But when she's made an heir after the death of her cousin, she's forced to give up her dreams and travel to her birthplace--even as stars fall, new and horrible beasts roam the land, and tensions mount between nations. There she's to learn which seat of power will be hers--and to which five of the Mirelands' other heirs she'll be betrothed. But things at the capitol are not well, and some of those whom she once trusted prove traitorous. In the midst of a violent coup, Nik finds herself relying on powers she can barely fathom to fight an enemy she never imagined...all for a throne she doesn't even want. But if it means saving the lands and people she loves, she's more than ready to wear the crown. (I will be making major edits to every chapter of this story in the near future. This will involve totally replacing the content of all existing chapters here as well as resubmitting the stories entirely to Scribblehub and RoyalRoad. If you're reading this story anywhere other than Wattpad, Scribblehub or Royal Road, you're reading a pirated version.) CW: story contains strong language, violence and some elements of body horror

***This book has been stolen by a predatory site without my consent, including the cover I made, this blurb, and all chapter contents within. I will no longer be uploading chapters. I will not feed the site in question more of my content. However, if I delete this book, it won't be deleted there, so I would lose all evidence that this story is mine originally. I'm sorry, but I'm only one of thousands of victims of the blatant and egregious plagiarism and copyright infringement made by the repulsive website I found my content on.*** For millennia, a magical barrier around the Sand Sea prevented an endless force of darkness from drowning the world. As long as the barrier held, the world was allowed to forget about the shadowbeasts of legend. Until now. Gale, a young mage-in-training aching to prove herself, is sent on a simple job to handle the purported animal attacks the desert people seem unable to fend off any longer. Believing the tales of shadowbeasts to be superstitious fancy, she expects to encounter nothing more than mirages and whispers on the wind. What she finds is hatred given form and vengeance given flesh, waiting for the moment to strike. The barrier is weakened, wavering, and an ancient enemy is gathering its strength to break free of its eternal prison. Gale must find a way to restore the barrier, or else die in a war millennia in the making.