The Inquisition

Almost over. Salyah kept saying it ever since she took the first of the last steps that would finally bring her to her destination. The HQ of the company is within reach, and this time it seems like the worst is behind her. After escaping Warden Mikka and the initial outbreak of Thesian prison, besting Ulvestus' greed and another brush with the plague in Wilmshire, escaping Gien's lust and tyranny in Arxen, and surviving both Arisandra's insanity and the bloodlust of Tarconian knights, this final stretch will bring her to the home of the Silver Company - to her father.

The journey changed her. A once innocent girl with a whimsical and naive outlook on the world and future had a rude and merciless lesson taught to her by the cold and uncaring world around her. To survive it forced her to leave some altruistic qualities of herself behind, to leave a friend and journey without him, and say a soul-scarring goodbye to another. Salyah Jerephey, once an innocent neophyte of the company, but soon a hardened physician working on the cure for the plague by her father's side.

Her development from a girl into a woman was a hard one, but it was a journey she didn't undertake alone. Tylian stood by her side, and he still walks with her not only to see the journey through but to have his own fated meeting with Salim. They lost some companions, both temporarily and permanently, but found new allies as well. The Tarconian knight Lance agreed to escort Salyah to the HQ, and the twins, Nic and Cin? Well, she can't say no to them tagging along. Almost over. It's almost over. Except...

Upon her arrival into the forest surrounding the company HQ grounds, she quickly discovers that her nightmares aren't over yet, and this final one seems to be the worst one yet. The forest is filled with the refuges from the company, the professors and students who have escaped the wrath of the so-called Inquisition. This Inquisition, which invaded the villa a few days prior has taken control of the building, left the front gate and the courtyard in ruins, and captured the high table of the entire company - Salim included.

What's worse, it seems the leader of these invaders, the High Inquisitor himself, besieged the villa specifically to capture Salyah's father. He is still alive and will remain alive for as long as Salyah does as instructed. Her instruction? Have an audience with the Inquisitor himself, the one that calls himself Oliver. She needs only listen to what he has to say, for if she doesn't, he will most likely do what she fears the most. She has no other choice, given that the Inquisitor has essentially already won.

By following the instructions Saylah will not only hear Oliver's point of view but know the truths she so desperately wanted all this time. The truth about the war. The truth about the enigmatic battle that came after. The truth about Cenric's disappearance from Thesia. The truth about the plague itself. And at last, and much to her surprise, the truth about Lag'sha - Oliver's dearest friend. Salyah's uncertainty about Oliver's intentions leaves her with her hands tied, but her companions demand she take action - covert and even the more straightforward and violent kind.

The desperation to save her father will push Salyah more than anything she has faced before, but will the truth Oliver offers push her even beyond? Will she be able to stomach what the Inquisitor has to say? Will she be able to take the HQ back from his army of religious zealots? Will she be able to come to the other side stronger or more broken than ever?

Whatever the outcome, one thing is for certain - Salyah's journey is just beginning.

About the author

I am Dom Warren. Born September 4th, 1992 in Croatia.

It is interesting how one's hobby often leads the individual to pursue a career. First, it is nothing more than something to pass the time and to kill boredom. Soon you consider it your favorite hobby. Before you know it, it becomes your obsession. After many sleepless nights, I decided to take a plunge into the world of writing and make a career of my own. After all, I spent seven years writing the first series, setting the history of the world, and placing the cogs that make this world spin in the right place. I believe it is time to test fate and see whether my writing skills bear fruit.

It is also interesting how one's childhood trauma can become the catalyst for the story. While I didn't specifically copy my childhood nightmares into my book, it most certainly shaped it a certain way. Now I keep my little nightmares close to me, like some old, estranged friend, and use it as fuel to push my writing career forward. They weren't invited in the first place, but since they were a part of me, might as well make use of them.