The Hollow-Hearted: An Odyssium Novella

In The 13th Paragon Part II: From Ashes of Empires, a brief, heated recounting of events offered a mere glimpse into the hasty and ultimately treacherous expedition that launched Natke Orino’s career as an explorer in the Odyssan Archipelago. Now, the story of that journey is at last ready to be told in The Hollow-Hearted.

They called her Cary the Hollow-Hearted, perhaps the first female assassin of wide renown and infamy in all of history…or was she? Many contend her vicious legacy was but a myth, while others have turned her 300 year-old story into myriad works of fiction—a caricature of what may have been.

When the opportunity to discover the truth about Cary the Hollow-Hearted arises, it comes at a fragile period in Natke’s life. Her efforts to establish herself as an explorer in these islands have met with disaster thus far, and her relationship with her partner, Fuorento, seems destined to a similar fate. But before Natke and her team even reach the earthquake-ravaged site, signs appear that they might not be alone on their journey. Someone is there waiting, but for what purpose? The fortune that is storied to be hidden there? Or is it something far more sinister?