Chant of Ash: A Novel

In a world where magic is mined from the bones of dead gods, one boy holds the secret to breaking a monopoly that has starved a city for generations. It will cost him everything he thinks he wants. Kael has one rule: never need anyone. Alone, poor, and apprenticed to a broken drunk in the smog-choked slums of Veridium, he's watched trust get people killed his whole life - starting with the father he never knew. So when a dying man's journal reveals a forbidden formula that could shatter the Guild's iron grip on magic itself, Kael doesn't think twice about running with it alone. He's wrong within a week. Hunted by enforcers who don't tire and a monopoly that has erased better men than him for less, Kael is forced into an uneasy alliance with a mercenary who trusts no one, a disgraced scholar chasing forbidden knowledge, and a street-smart orphan with nothing left to lose. Together, they're the only thing standing between Kael and a death exactly like his father's. But the deeper Kael goes, the more he learns: the magic he carries was never meant to be wielded alone. And the Guild that killed his father isn't done hunting the son. CHANT OF ASH is a tight, propulsive standalone dark fantasy about the true cost of solitude - and the terrifying, necessary risk of letting people in. Perfect for readers who love hard magic systems, found family, and a fellowship earning every ounce of trust the hard way.