The Veil of Cinders

An empire powered by steam, soot, and stolen fire.

In the suffocating vertical metropolis of Varelis, prosperity is fueled by Aetherium-an incandescent mineral extracted from the unfathomable depths of the Cinder. While the oligarchs in the High Spires amass unfathomable power, the working-class Lowers choke on toxic exhaust and succumb to the Glass Eye, a lethal calcifying plague turning living flesh to stone.

Kael Arden is a street-level runner who knows every rusted pipe in the Lowers. Desperate to buy black-market medicine for his dying sister, he accepts an impossible smuggling contract. But the cargo isn't contraband machinery-it is a sealed cryogenic sarcophagus preserving a living Firstborn child.

When the job explodes into bloodshed, Kael is forced into an uneasy alliance with Lyra Venn, a disgraced noble scholar carrying forbidden research, and Captain Darian Rook, a disillusioned officer of the City Watch. Pursued by brutal inquisitors and ruthless syndicates, they uncover a terrifying cosmic secret:

Aetherium is not fuel. It is the bleeding remnant of an ancient planetary weapon-and humanity's mining is tearing open the metaphysical Veil that shields the world from the Void.

• Atmospheric Worldbuilding: A brutalist industrial fantasy noir blending heavy machinery with ancient cosmic dread.
• High-Stakes Magic System: Thermodynamic and biological magic with devastating consequences.
• Complex Anti-Heroes: A gritty smuggler, a methodical scientist, and an honorable soldier caught in an imperial conspiracy.

Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn, Joe Abercrombie, and the dark industrial aesthetics of Arcane.

Scroll up and grab your copy of Book I today to enter the world of Varelis!