Fate Decrees, Man Defies (Unfated, Book One‪)‬

A serial epic begins!

The gods are long dead, burned to ash by their own divine power. Left adrift and facing extinction, humankind has surrendered itself to Fate—not an abstract concept, here, but a supernatural entity that guides one’s actions from birth to death.

A fraction of mankind, however, has chosen exile over submission. Godless and Fateless, with no higher power to command, redeem, or damn them, the Unfated have defiantly scraped out an existence in the harshest corner of the world for a thousand years. But are they truly freer than the mass of humanity that considers itself Blessed by Fate?

Harker Aldreth couldn’t care less about such metaphysical riddles; he’s too busy digging up ancient ruins while trying to bury his own past. But when his parents are murdered and Sudden, his twelve-year-old sister, disappears, he discovers that being Unfated doesn’t necessarily make one free. A man who once forsook all ties to his family and heritage now finds himself compelled to search for Sudden.

His quest puts him on a collision course with Sumei, a Blessed queen. Scooped up by Fate when she was but an orphaned scullery girl, Sumei has spent the last eight years as the supreme exemplar of Fate’s decrees. Now, at the end of her earthly reign, she must journey across the Blessed Realms to join the Celestial Court, where she will watch over her human flock for eternity. Guarding Sumei is Trantz Nurayanan, the warrior who murdered Harker and Sudden’s parents—at Fate’s command.

Harker and Sudden. Sumei and Trantz. Unfated and Blessed. With an apocalyptic war looming between their peoples, these four souls are hurled together and forced to find common ground while seeking the answer to the fundamental question that haunts all their lives:

Who plays god in a godless world? Man? Or Fate?