Archives for April 2022

The Massacre of Lannamon is the third episode in Dawn of Chaos: Hell Gate, and the fourth installment in the Sanctum of the Archmage saga. And it’s now available for purchase from all major e-book retailers!

The first three books, including Episode II, The Ring of the Killravens, are also already available from all major e-book retailers. Click here to find them!

“I admire your determination to set the course of your own life,” Diana said at last. “I’ve always had a streak of independence, but I’ve never even thought of resisting my family’s expectations of me.”

“That sort of thing isn’t exactly encouraged in Dorian society,” he offered.

“No, it’s not. But you’ve had remarkable support for it here. From professors at the academy, even the Archmage himself. I guess that’s what’s always fascinated me about Carlissa. Even the princess, allowed to become a bard. That would be unheard of in my homeland.”

Without warning, she walked to the window and pulled aside the valence. Orion came to stand by her side, an inquisitive expression on his face. They looked out on the city together.

The Carlissan resistance was broken. Fires raged everywhere, and columns of smoke rose like orange pillars into the reddening sky. The walls and towers of the army base had been shattered and were being consumed in a raging inferno. The only soldiers they could see lay dead. Hellmen, demons, giants, and dragons roamed or flew over the streets, destroying, killing, and taking prisoners at will.

They turned to the west. An enormous force of battle demons was surging against the palace. The outer gates lay in ruins. Explosions and reports of magic echoed through the valley as the defenders fought a losing battle to hold the fortifications. Shadows were reaching across the city as the sun moved down toward the shoulder of Mount Cascade.

“All that is gone now,” she said bitterly. “Even if the people survive, and the demons don’t just slaughter us all. That budding spirit of independence will end.”

She turned to look at Orion, face haunted. “It’s going to be lost forever, isn’t it?”

He shook his head. Diana was surprised to see that defiance still burned in his eyes.

“There’s one last hope,” he said quietly.

“What?”

Orion pointed across the firth to the Silver Star Adventurer’s Academy. Another brigade of battle demons swarmed around it, but its tower still stood, gleaming proudly against the afternoon sky.

“The Archmage,” he said. “He would never surrender the city without a fight. I don’t know what he’s waiting for, or what his plan is. But he has one.” His eyes hardened. “And this battle won’t be over until he’s played his hand.”

From Sanctum of the Archmage: The Massacre of Lannamon by Tony Andarian.

The Ring of the Killravens, the third book in Sanctum of the Archmage saga and the second episode in Dawn of Chaos: Hell Gate, is now available from all major e-book stores! And the previous book, The Return of the Horde, is in Bargain Booksy’s deals promo list for today, April 14th, 2022.

He leaned in toward the viewing port, looking at it intently.

“Can you get us closer?” he asked suddenly. “I want a look at this general of theirs.”

“You don’t think it’s Emil?” Elena asked.

Danor shook his head. “Zomoran may be calling himself a Warlord now, but he’s no military commander. Someone else is directing this attack.” He paused, and then added: “Or some thing.”

“I can try,” Gerard said. The image in the viewport shifted, flying down toward the hellgate.

“There,” Danor said suddenly, pointing. “About halfway between the dome and the marketplace.”

The image slowed to a stop. In its center, they saw a demon with a snake-like head perched atop a long, serpentine neck. Its skin was scaly and its body reptilian, with long, slender limbs. Although it looked small and weak for a demon, something in its bearing — and in the deference it received from the monsters around it — filled them with dread.

“So powerful,” Elena whispered.

Danor glanced at her. She was staring at the creature, but with her eyes closed, as if looking at it with an inner sight.

“I’ve never sensed anything like it,” she said. Her voice was trembling.

Nor will you again, Queen Elena, a voice said menacingly.

They started. They had heard the voice not with their ears, but in their minds. It spoke softly, but with a commanding intensity that struck them with fear and awe.

The King whirled back to the portal. The demon had turned to face it from the other side. Its single, great eye was looking right at them. A shiver ran down his spine as he realized that it could see them just as well as they could see it.

“By the Light, Emil,” Elena whispered, in a voice filled with horror. “What have you unleashed on our world?”

From Sanctum of the Archmage: The Ring of the Killravens, by Tony Andarian

The Ring of the Killravens, the third book in the Sanctum of the Archmage Saga, will be released on April 14th. It is now available for pre-order on all major e-book retailers!

The survivors of the Horde’s first brutal assault regroup and consider their options. The royal family plans a desperate gamble to use the power of an ancient, hidden artifact against the demons.

The Ring of the Killravens is the second of four novella-length “episodes” in the first Sanctum novel, Hell Gate, which will be released at three week intervals between now and the end of May.

Prologue to Chaos and The Return of the Horde, books one and two in the saga, are already available from all major e-book stores.

The first six books in the saga are already available directly from Andarian Publishing, on this website. They are also available for purchase or pre-order now on Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble (“Nook”), and Rakuten Kobo, as well as several international bookstores.