A young lord faces dark forces that will either forge him into a hero or break him into a monster.
It is the early fifteenth century. The Ottoman Empire, reborn under Sultan Mehmed I, surges forward after the nine-year chaos of the Interregnum. Determined to reclaim lost territories, the Sultan targets the Balkans and Wallachia, reigniting Christian-Muslim conflict over trade routes that could alter the balance of power.
The Byzantine Empire, a shadow of its former glory, clings to survival in Constantinople. The city’s walls hide not only the last flicker of Christian dominance but also its darkest sins. Whispers tell of The City of the Angel, a ruthless faction wielding bribery, assassination, and fear to protect their cause. Stranger still are rumors of bodies drained of blood, screams echoing from below, and shadows devouring the unwary.
For Constantinople’s people, the city’s majesty is a fragile facade, masking a growing rot within. Heroes are absent, and hope is scarce. Into this storm steps young Nikephoros, untested and unready. His journey will reveal whether he can confront the evil stirring around—and within—him.
This tale blends historical drama with chilling dark fantasy, perfect for fans of Castlevania or The Witcher.
A young lord faces dark forces that will either forge him into a hero or break him into a monster.
It is the early fifteenth century. The Ottoman Empire, reborn under Sultan Mehmed I, surges forward after the nine-year chaos of the Interregnum. Determined to reclaim lost territories, the Sultan targets the Balkans and Wallachia, reigniting Christian-Muslim conflict over trade routes that could alter the balance of power.
The Byzantine Empire, a shadow of its former glory, clings to survival in Constantinople. The city’s walls hide not only the last flicker of Christian dominance but also its darkest sins. Whispers tell of The City of the Angel, a ruthless faction wielding bribery, assassination, and fear to protect their cause. Stranger still are rumors of bodies drained of blood, screams echoing from below, and shadows devouring the unwary.
For Constantinople’s people, the city’s majesty is a fragile facade, masking a growing rot within. Heroes are absent, and hope is scarce. Into this storm steps young Nikephoros, untested and unready. His journey will reveal whether he can confront the evil stirring around—and within—him.
This tale blends historical drama with chilling dark fantasy, perfect for fans of Castlevania or The Witcher.
It is the early fifteenth century.
The Ottoman Empire has emerged stronger from the strife of the Interregnum, a brutal, nine-year civil war. It is now bound by the iron will of Sultan Mehmed I under a singular vision: to rebuild the empire, reclaim the lost territories in Anatolia , and spread Ottoman dominance over the Balkans and Wallachia.
Though over, the echoes of the Interregnum still shape the region as Mohammedans and Christians vie for control of crucial trade routes that could shape the future of both empires.
The Byzantine Empire, once a beacon of Christian power, clings to survival within the fortress city of Constantinople. With its independence hanging from a thread, the city is a hotbed of political maneuvering, as each whispered promise of alliance or betrayal could spell the end of Christian power in the region.
Outwardly, the city remains majestic, a testament to all Christianity claims to offer, but behind the walls, a group known as The City of the Angel operates in the shadows to ensure Christian dominance in the region at any cost. Kidnapping, bribery, political assassinations—these are well-known by even commoners. Fewer dare to whisper of the darker rumors—people being sucked into the earth, the sounds of distant screams seeming to come from beneath the streets, bodies found with strange punctures, drained entirely of blood.
Life goes on in Constantinople, the people too focused on the evils outside the city to see the evils stirring within. Such threats cannot be defeated by mere men; they require heroes, but in Constantinople, heroes are as missing as hope.
The young lord Nikephoros, pampered and unprepared for the horrors that await him, is about to get his first taste of true darkness.
This was a gripping introduction to the declining Roman Empire and made me want to read more! It was too short, but its excellent writing drew me into this fascinating world. The Byzantine Empire, or more accurately, the Eastern Roman Empire, remained Christian well into the decades of the Ottoman Empire's emergence. During this phase, authorities suppressed many pagan institutions and Greek/Roman religions. With the advent of 1453, the Byzantines had suffered multiple civil wars, with jealous generals proclaiming their dynasties. This meant that Byzantine Power dwindled while the Ottoman Turks slowly crept in and started chipping away at Byzantine Power within Central Anatolia.
One thing from this story that I read is that choices are what led to the decline of the Byzantine Empire. That there is this secret under-belly, this secret organisation that haunts the crumbling pillars of the Roman Empire, means there is a way to the story than we know. To me, it means the Pagans must have survived. They must have used Christianity as a mask to disguise their true intentions. This type of conspiracy is something I expect to see in a Dan Brown Novel. This is my suspicion of where the story wants to go in the future.
I loved the characters, the writing and the illustration. It is very easy to read and is absolutely fantastic. I thoroughly recommend it!
While I applaud this unique approach of text versus visuals, I felt the character illustrations overemphasized shapes, hindering the narrative. I felt some simple focus would have been better. The history of Constantinople, however, is not only fascinating but an interesting part of history that many fantasy authors and sci-fi authors, as of recent, need to take inspiration from. The entire history of the Byzantine Empire is one of struggle and survival against the power of the Islamic Empires for a very long time. Ironically, those Christians who professed to protect the Holy Land betrayed it.