C A Bathgate

C. A. Bathgate has been a fantasy role-playing referee since the earliest days of Dungeons and Dragons. His writing reflects his world and gaming style: interactive and realistic, original and inventive rather than rules-intensive. What began as a life-long interest in history and the fantasy genre has transformed into a burgeoning saga. He lives with a very supportive wife and two affectionate cats in Edmonton, Alberta.

He loves to hear from readers. Visit his website at: Dragonshadowed.com

Synopsis: A band of friends composed of humans, an elf, a dwarf and a goblin reluctantly travel to a divided kingdom. They bring a dire warning to the high nobility, haughty clerics, and suspicious archmages of a land greatly changed in their absence. A storm of unimaginable power approaches, intent upon eradicating everything as if it never existed. This storm has a name. The Void.

The kingdom’s rulers are unlikely to alter their activities based solely on the word of a handful of visitors preaching doom. Others have their own agendas, and may actively resist warnings from outsiders. The humans within the band must first reclaim their abandoned birthrights, positions, and gain power. Only then may they speak with any hope of being honorably received by those with the ability to resist.

Arrival on the shores of the old land begins a journey fraught with peril. They must navigate the mundane world while contending with the impinging fey plane and time traveling adversaries. Open threats of jousts and combat compete with hidden dangers in a culture rife with lies, lethal enchantments and subtle poison. Worse, ancient sorcerer dragons greedily manipulate the fortunes of the ground folk, and may be allied with the impending storm.

But not all dragons are evil. Many assume unsuspected humanoid forms to communicate, mentor, and protect selected groups of beings through mystical relationships, magic, and direct actions. Whispers of war simmer as each great clan maneuvers subtle plots against their draconic rivals.

This high fantasy action-adventure story is set in an alternate world similar to Earth’s medieval period where the laws of magic have replaced the laws of science.

A Dawn Before the Storm is the first book of the Dragonshadowed series. The second book, A Hope in the Darkness, will follow shortly.