SPFBO winner Rob J. Hayes has teamed up with Jackson Dickert to put together a comprehensive world guide to The Ties That Bind trilogy for fans who want to experience the gritty, grimdark world of First Earth, now with even greater depravities and horrors. Included are two brand new novellas from Rob! In Sting of the Dragon, Travine squashes a rebellion, paving the way for his future as the Empress’s Dragon Herald. In The Princess Blade, discover the events that took Henry from royalty to a cold-blooded killer… under the guise of a child’s bedtime story. Monsters and gore included, obviously. Plus, a brand new short story, “The Serpent’s Tooth”, written by Jackson Dickert with Rob J. Hayes’ stamp of approval. It doesn’t take long for Harod to betray his old friend, Jezzet Vel’urn, during The Heresy Within. What dark secret was he willing to risk certain death from a blademaster to protect? Alongside these new adventures into the First Earth Saga, explore a worldbuilding companion, complete with more than 115 story extras that detail character backstories and world lore, over 140 exclusive, original artworks, and the ten previously published First Earth Saga short stories, now collected into one book. With over 120,000 words of content, The World of Heresy Within is easily as long as your standard fantasy novel and ten times as dark! Detailed blurbs for Sting of the Dragon, The Princess Blade, and The Serpent’s Tooth are available to read as part of the free sample.

Set in a world plagued by oppression and greed, this dark epic fantasy follows Makayla, a young slave girl granted the powers of a god after a brutal attack, and Kael, a devoted citizen with vast magical abilities. With her new powers, Makayla believes herself the Light, prophesied to liberate her enslaved people, end the empire’s oppressive reign, and save the world from eternal darkness. Her massive army of freed slaves threatens the empire’s hold on the West, but her divine powers didn’t come from a benevolent god, and her thirst for vengeance risks unleashing cataclysmic destruction. On the other side of the empire, Kael is headed to finish his training as an imperial assassin when his caravan is attacked by a horde of undead. Nurtured to health by a people he once despised, he finds friendship, love, and a new idyllic life outside the empire. When the empire discovers his hidden village, he must flee his newfound life. On the run, he discovers he is bound to Makayla by a prophecy he’d never believed, but now cannot ignore. Can he change her Path of Prophecy before her dark powers consume not only her but all life on Yrsa?