The once powerful Verant Empire had been brought to its knees after seven years of civil war. The war maybe over, a new emperor maybe at the helm, but the empire remains broken. Deadly plagues, encroaching monsters, divided political loyalties only scratch the surface of the problems the empire now faces. Highwaymen make the roads unsafe, powerful wizards go unchecked and goblin hordes threaten local towns and villages. Elwin doesn’t want to spend his days as a farmer and dreams of adventure. He, his brother Rith, best friend Emerson and adopted cousin Anna, decide to go out into this world as adventurers hoping to seek fame and fortune just like in the books they read. The empire is at a crossroads as Elwin and his friends experience the aftermath of the war, they must come to terms with what it means to live in the Verant Empire as one of it's citizens. It all begins with an intriguing map sewn into cloth, written in a strange language and depicting a place that doesn’t seem to exist. Elwin and his friends decide to go to the capital city to join the adventurer’s guild and find someone who can translate the map and hopeful recognize the locations depicted. Along the way they encounter lizard creatures, goblins, former soldiers, a bard, druid and a powerful wizard who has his own eye on the map. They meet new friends and create deadly enemies. From great plains to a bustling metropolis, to a town devastated by an earthquake, their world of Gaia has a gritty realism to it and the empire is only a small part of a much large realm. It is a Romanesque world teetering on a renaissance in which Gods, gunpowder, armored knights, griffin riders and magic coexist uneasily. Elwin and his companions drink, smoke, swear, make mistakes and face serious moral dilemmas at every turn. Novel is now complete, the second novel in the series has begun publication with an advanced chapter as a reward to my followers. The remainder of Book 2 will be published weekly starting at the end of September.