The Iron Reluctance
Marek Durren wants nothing more than the steady ring of his hammer and the safe lives of Sera Thornwall's children in the village he calls home. But the morning a wounded stranger drags himself into his forge, that peace shatters for good. The stranger carries words that pull Marek into the company of Lord-Captain Reva Marn, Corporal Havel, and the seasoned officers of Colonel Ilara Voss , and into the shadow of a war the empire is trying to keep from its own people. As General Korath Vane tightens his grip on the borderlands, Field Marshal Davan Holt's once-iron resolve begins to crack, and Garrison Commander Edrik Solt finds his outpost surrounded by enemies he cannot name. Worst of all, somewhere within the ranks stands a traitorous smith whose betrayal has already been paid for in blood. Pressed into service by Commander Reva Marn and guided by the sharp mind of Caelen Rook, Marek must forge weapons, armor, and alliances he never wanted , while Brannic Cole, Yenna Brock, Selka Dorne, and Tessany Vael each carry their own secrets toward the same breaking point. The hammer is in his hand. The enemy is at the gate. The only question that remains is what kind of iron Marek Durren truly is.