The God War is over. An empire fueled by suffering, slavery, and betrayal remains…

In the fractured lands of the Salvian Empire, power belongs to the Great Houses, who rule through blood, fear, and lies. For years, Alandra has hunted crazed Sonomancers and the empire's worst, hoping to find the daughter stolen from her. Each step forward demands another compromise. Another betrayal. Another innocent left behind.

When she finally finds her daughter, she's betrayed. Alandra will burn the world to get her daughter back... even if it sears away what little humanity she has left.

In the empire’s mining camps, Bez has endured years of torture and painful experiments, pushing him to the brink of suicide. He clings to one purpose: to escape and spill the blood of the three who murdered his parents—completing the ritual that will free their souls from damnation. But after grief and guilt finally tear him open, the boy the empire tried to break becomes something far more dangerous.

Their separate paths spiral toward a bloody collision, drawing the gaze of ancient forces that have waited patiently since the God War’s dying breath. Will their personal quests for vengeance unleash a fate that the entire world must pay?

Because empires do not fall quietly.

And gods do not sleep forever.

Makerborn is the brutal first book in the Maladies of Empire epic dark fantasy series. If you like gory crusades for justice, magic born from suffering, and the cost of love and family, then you'll love Daymon Ashcord's unflinching tale.

For readers who enjoy Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, R.F. Kuang, Evan Winter, and Steven Erikson.