Hunting and Herbalism

Zalia Taori is well equipped for life in the remote forest valley she calls home. But while tracking a deer through her snowy stomping grounds—armed with her hunting bow and excellent knowledge of wild plants—she comes across a warp in the fabric of reality. She suddenly finds herself in an unfamiliar land where she must learn to survive as both predator and prey. As Zalia explores this forbidding new terrain, she encounters peculiar herbs, terrifying monsters, mysterious rituals, and some unexpected friends.

Zalia wakes to find herself in a strange, new hellscape called Cormaine. Though this place offers a brief respite from the politics of Endaria, it's a dark land of twisted, leafless trees, mournful cries, and a looming red sky where far more concerning things than politics are to be found. With her mischievous companion, the mountain leopard Boreal, Zalia must hide from the souls floating aimlessly across the firmament and find food before she starves.

Zalia has finally made her way back to Endaria after escaping the hellish nightmare of Cormaine. Yet instead of a warm welcome, she finds her friends scattered, their armies crumbling, and demons slaughtering their way across the kingdom.

With Endaria liberated at last, Zalia confronts the divisiveness, political schemes, and other challenges peace has brought to her adopted homeland. While her now established power is enough to help those most in need and put off those who seek to use her, she discovers Endaria's strongest citizens had been disappearing long before the first demon invasion . . . As her daughter Aylie's ethereal talents grow in unexpected directions, Zalia reluctantly allows her to join the investigation along with Zalia's partner, Ember, and her ice cat Boreal's formidable new cubs.