Book One of the Dark Renewal
Tim Rayborn
Publication Date is October 22, 2024

From the review by D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review:

Readers of epic high fantasy well know there is much to choose from in this genre; but for complex and alluring deep reads, the availability list whittles down. Tim Rayborn is able to construct worlds with a hand to psychological and atmospheric build-ups which are engrossing from his story’s opening lines:

“The earth bleeds.”

In a dark and cold stone chamber, a figure sat in mid-air, his legs crossed, his long grey robe trailing to the floor. With cruel eyes, he gazed into an orb of pulsing light floating above his outstretched palms. Scrying into its center, he beheld the rumbling that shook a far-away barren landscape, its ground splitting open along the seams of ancient land-wounds. Primal energies born of a loathsome magic disgorged, stinging the surface of the ruined plains. Shadowy, swirling mists poured forth, free after centuries of imprisonment.

**

Andra Illindrien wants nothing more than to go home, to enjoy a break from her studies of music and magic and leave the vast city of Tenaeth behind for the comforts of her village. But she soon unwittingly acquires a gemstone of unimaginable power and learns of terrible truths.

A great cosmic cycle is coming to an end, and ominous signs cast shadows over the land. The fate of all existence is unknown as the fabric of reality will soon be undone and draw inward.
In this time of approaching chaos, someone has unleashed an ancient power in the north that is destroying the world itself. And in the vast forest of Cernwood, hideous winged creatures have awakened from a centuries-old sleep, craving mortal blood and flesh.

But the Land Spirit, the embodiment of all that is, will not willingly fade into oblivion. Its flamboyant incarnation gathers a group of unlikely and unwilling protectors, including Andra herself. Together, they might be able to stop the growing darkness, but time is slipping away.

Tim Rayborn

Tim Rayborn is a writer and internationally acclaimed musician. He plays dozens of unusual instruments that many people of have never heard of and often can’t pronounce, including medieval instrument reconstructions and folk instruments from Northern Europe, the Balkans, and the Middle East. Learn more about the author.