The Fifth Guardians

**Hope Awakens in the Depths of Despair**

At the heart of this epic tale, Nacetti Passur, an Ascendant Rödd Priestess, bravely carries a child that symbolizes the hope of a new era for her cleric family. Her love story with Aaron and Shana, a rare and sacred plural union, is a complex and intriguing one, defying conventional logic yet serving as an anchor for a civilization on the brink of collapse.

Daniella Juno, a newly commissioned ensign in the Science Fleet, finds herself at the cusp of a looming civil war, tasked with transporting secrets that threaten to expose conspiracies and morally reprehensible projects ordered and funded by the elite titans of Atlantean government and business for nearly a century. Her Admiral, Lisil Pascal, must send her on a perilous mission across 1,600 kilometers of ocean, where she faces English warships, a scorching tropical sun, fierce storms, and the loss of her memories, all in an effort to save her nation. The tension is palpable as Daniella navigates this treacherous journey.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligences start to grasp the significance of human emotions. They also realize that both they and their human partners are being influenced by ancient powers having to do with the most sacred place of the Rödd religion. Shana's sister, Lana, an asteroid prospector, must both protect her gravely injured lover while discovering that samples from an icy dark asteroid she obtained could completely change what the people of Atlanteas understand about life in their oceans.

Prepare for the world of 1801 to become even more twisted in *The Fifth Guardians* by Tom Ray.