Set in the immersive and expansive Six Realms of Albion, kingdoms and countless races have struggled against each other for a millennium for wealth, knowledge, power, and dominion. Now, an unholy alliance between the vampiric houses, winged volkans, dark elves, and the four evil Empires hatched from egg broods deep in the Realm of Darkness threatens to consolidate enough power to enslave the world. At the same time, fractured elven fiefdoms, dwarven clans, giant tribes, and human kingdoms squabble and undermine each other to elevate their own positions, growing collectively weaker. As their failure to consolidate defenses for an imminent world war continues, the ugarols of the 4th Empire have discovered a secret weapon: a Shard.
Against this rich setting, two vastly different destinies collide. Gauwyn is a pure-hearted slum child who yearns to leave his manure-shoveling hovel to become a knight. His aspirations take a dangerous turn when he is conscripted by The Dreamer, an accomplished killer and the second-highest-ranked member of a secret assassin guild named the Order of the Oath, which shapes the realm's politics through murder.
Tasked with carrying a pouch of magical Shards across the known world to a secret King with promises of knighthood, Gauwyn must flee the hatchling Empire's forces, all while pursued by its two most relentless leaders, Gorkha and Tsicisam. Meanwhile, as The Dreamer ventures deep into enemy territory on his latest writ of assassination, his night terrors begin to feel like memories. Caught in a crisis of self-discovery, the assassin must battle the same two sinister leaders to uncover the truth of his own Order—and the mystery of a magical Stone that will change him forever.
Blending dark fantasy with swashbuckling coming-of-age adventure, Shards and Stones is a tale of camaraderie, betrayal, mystery, and revenge. Told as a parallel dual-timeline plot by a somewhat reliable narrator, this epic explores the deep search for one’s true identity across multiple decades, environments, realms, and characters.