Dawnwing

A new, epic romantasy from R.K. Lander.

 

A trilogy of epic fantasy, forbidden truth, and slow-burning romance

“Some truths must remain buried, for the last time we courted fire, it burned the heavens.”

— Guild Master Lerita

For centuries, the Academic Guild has quietly guided the fate of the vast forest empire of Ea Uaré. Revered as keepers of knowledge, they alone know the truth history forgot: dragons once lived beside elves—and the power drawn from them shattered the First Elven Empire. To prevent another War of Retribution, the Guild erased the past, sealed every surviving fragment of lore, and declared dragons nothing more than myth.

One scholar devoted his life to uncovering what the Guild buried. Branded a madman and cast out, he died without proof—his name ruined, his work destroyed. His son, Taeyren Kellas, refuses to let that be the end of the story. Anti-social, brilliant, and relentlessly curious, Taeyren takes up his father’s research, determined to restore his honour—even if it costs him everything.

His unlikely patron is King Rinon of House Or’Talán, the only ruler who still dares to believe dragons once existed. With northern threats rising—Calrazians, giants, and creatures born of fire and poison—the king needs hope as much as he needs answers.

Under the guise of a royal cartographic expedition, Taeyren is dispatched across the Pelagic Sea to chart the unclaimed Icelands. Officially, he travels as a natural philosopher. In truth, he hunts the last proof of a forbidden age.

To guard the scholars, the king assigns an elite military escort—and six newly trained cadets completing their Field Ascension, the final trial before earning their place in the army. Among them is Aralas of House Or’Talán: the king’s niece, daughter of legends, and a warrior determined to earn her future by merit alone. Trained to be flawless, bound by expectation, and promised to a destiny she never chose, Aralas believes her path is already written.

Serving beside heirs of rival houses—children of those who spilled blood in the last civil war—her presence alone strains a fragile peace. Their commander, Captain At’hallen of House Sulén, comes from a family once at war with her own. His trials test more than strength and skill; they force the cadets to confront loyalty, prejudice, and the sins inherited from their parents.

Aralas expects hardship. She expects rivalry. She expects to survive.

What she does not expect is Taeyren.

Book-drowned, disarmingly honest, and utterly unsuited to courtly games, Taeyren is the last man anyone would pair with the polished daughter of heroes. Yet he possesses something Aralas cannot ignore: a mind sharp enough to pierce centuries of lies—and a quiet fire that mirrors her own.

As their bond deepens, it threatens everything Aralas has been trained to protect. For Taeyren sees her not as a legend’s daughter, nor as a political prize—but as a woman standing at war with herself, a warrior with a secret she never dared to reveal.

When forbidden truths begin to surface, rival houses stir and old ambitions awaken, fracturing hard-earned loyalties. Aralas and Taeyren are forced to ask the question the Guild has feared for centuries: is Elvendom ready for the second coming of Dawnwing? Will their legend save the Great Forest from invasion? Or will it destroy those who seek to control them?

DAWNWING is a sweeping epic fantasy trilogy of hidden history, dangerous knowledge, and slow-burning romance—where dragons are not weapons to be claimed, but judges who remember everything.

Characters