PRIME

When nineteen-year-old metal elemental Farrier Li is discharged from military service on account of his worsening lung disease, he's at least content to spend his remaining years at his childhood home, the fallen-yet-enduring Empire of Four Waters. Within the next year, he becomes a journeyman tailor working in his grandmother's shop. Though scorned by his fellow elementals for squandering his powers as a low-wage artisan, his existence is peaceful.

But his fragile defenses shatter when his sister, Howlan, is kidnapped. To get her back, he must cross a treacherous desert filled with monsters and rogues and enter the hostile country of Altheia. But when every step of the way strains his mental shield against the trauma of war, it becomes even more difficult to differentiate between who he should trust and who he must destroy－ and which category he himself falls into.

Meanwhile, the cunning gunslinger Howlan Li－ operating under the alias of Howl－ takes every opportunity to escape before finally succeeding. Newly freed and hungry for vengeance, it isn't long before Altheia realizes the truth of what they've brought into their land:

Back when Howl was a little girl, Altheia conquered the Empire of Four Waters and razed the land. And Howl wants to pay everything back. Evil for evil. Cruelty for cruelty. Blood for blood.

Farrier is prepared to save his sister from the enemy. But can he save her from herself? And is he prepared to save himself from her?

*As designer of the cover and graphics used in this work, I accept no credit for any of the art included. All due credit goes to the original creators.*