Dawn of the Lightbearer: Counsel of Steel (Absolution of the Morning Star)

Erikson Gray was meant to be a nobody.

A blacksmith’s apprentice in Grafton Notch, on the fringe of the empire, Erik has no title, no inheritance, and no place in the wars of gods and emperors. Then he finds a sword buried in a forbidden forest, and everything changes.

The sword is named Lightbearer.

And it whispers.

Its voice knows things it should not know. It offers strength when Erik is weak, warns when death draws near, and holds enough power to make even emperors afraid. But Lightbearer is no mere weapon. Something ancient is bound within the blade—something that remembers old secrets and has kept them in darkness too long.

In Lucardia, the dead do not go to heaven. They are currency, and Lightbearer may be the first crack in the lie.

Now Erik is hunted by soldiers, zealots, and enemies out of legend. His only allies are two disgraced knights, a band of thieves, and the blade whose voice grows harder to ignore with every mile and every drop of blood.

But Lightbearer did not choose him by accident.

As the empire begins to fracture and forgotten powers stir, Erik must face the question that may decide the fate of Lucardia:

Does he wield Lightbearer…

or does Lightbearer wield him?

Dawn of the Lightbearer: Counsel of Steel begins the Absolution of the Morning Star series, a dark epic fantasy saga of cursed steel, hidden bloodlines, false salvation, and the terrible cost of destiny.