The Weighted Shroud

"The Weighted Shroud" is a play-styled book about a knight and his life. For twenty years, Sir Garrick has served as the unbreakable shield of Solaria, bleeding on the front lines to hold back the devastating tides of Orcish hordes and breeding Goblin armies. Now utterly battle-weary, the legendary knight finds himself trapped between two desperate human empires who view his famed honor as a weapon to be exploited. General Brennan of Solaria demands Garrick return to the vanguard, condemning him to a lifetime of endless, meat-grinder warfare. Meanwhile, Chancellor Morgane of Lunaria offers him an enticing alternative: an empty throne and the absolute power of a king. Yet this crown is merely a gilded death sentence, as the decadent Elven courts of Silverwood have already poisoned the last three monarchs, and rival fiefdoms stand ready to assassinate the next. To complicate the impending crisis, the isolationist Dwarf lords of the Iron Ridge have sealed their gates, leaving humanity completely fractured as the surrounding world prepares for war. Garrick quickly realizes that both the heavy plate armor of a soldier and the lavish silk robes of a monarch are simply different versions of a burial shroud. Ultimately, the weary champion must play a dangerous game of political brinkmanship against both monstrous invaders and cultured vipers, knowing his final choice will not dictate how he lives, but exactly how he will die.