The Broken Pact

The Broken Pact is the first novel in the Tales of Gods and Men series. It will be published sometime late 2014. The novel follows the Paladins Trent and Devin as the war between the Gods of Light and the Gods of Darkness reignites.

Plot Summary
The novel begins with Trent and his older brother Terric as children under the care of the kindly woman Elise after they have been kicked out of their home by their father. The two boys live in the slums of Illux, The City of Light, in abject poverty. On a cold winter day a fire breaks out in the center of the city, drawing a crowd onto the street to watch the rising smoke. Finally word reaches the boys that the Seraph has been killed by Demons who have infiltarted the city. Trent and Terric try to make it home but find themselves in the path of one such creature, and they watch helplessly as it kills a Paladin in battle. The Demon turns its gaze on the boys and kills Terric before fleeing the city.

Fifteen years later Trent is a Paladin warrior of some renown who often goes on ranging missions in the Wilderness. Trent is accompanied everywhere by his best friend and fellow Paladin: Devin. The two Paladins frequently butt heads with veteran commander Castille, due to his lack of respect towards the Lady Ren, the new Seraph. Ren is concerned about the lack of enemy activity as of late and sends Trent and Devin on a ranging mission into the wilderness to discover just what is really going on.

Meanwhile on the Divine Plane the Gods of Darkness and the Gods of Light are in a state of unrest. The length at which the war has drug on has reduced them to petty squabbles amongst themselves. Arra, a Goddess of Light, finds herself at odds with her companions due to her lack of desire to continue fighting their enemies. The Fallen One among the Gods of Darkness makes plans to overthrow both pantheons as well as their mediator the Grey God.

Trent and Devin stop off at an outer village on their way into the Wilderness where they find their old friend Gil is stationed. Gil shares the fears of Trent and Ren that the enemy forces are planning something. Devin on the other hand balks at their suspicions. They spend the night in the village and continue on their journey the next morning.

Several days of traveling amount to them finding little to no trace of either Accursed or Demons. Finally they stumble across a band of Accursed led by Demons. Keeping back they follow them at a distance as the band moves to the west. The group grows larger and larger as they follow it west where it converges with a horde of thousands gathered near the Great Chasm. Realizing that this army could pose a large threat to Illux, the two Paladins turn and begin heading back to warn the city. They stimble across a smaller band of Accursed and a single Demon. The battle goes ill for the Paladins who almost lose their lives if not for the aid of Arra from the Divine Plane.

The Fallen One gathers up his courage and approaches the Grey God in his sanctuary. The two get into an argument, followed by a short battle. The Fallen One emerges victorious, severing the head of his desceased adversary before heading back to his companions in Infernaak.

On the Mortal Plane the Balance Monk Teo is undergoing his daily ruitine with his fellow monks at the Grey Temple. Smoke is seen rising from farther down the mountainside. Teo and his fellow monk, Rella, are dispatched to find out just what is wrong and help the monks who tend to the fields. They discover that the fields have all been burnt and the temple is under seige from the forces of Darkness. When Teo tries to reach out to the Grey God he finds out that the God of Balance is dead.

The Herald of the Fallen One stands in a clearing of smooth stone with a cadre of Demons and a crying girl. He uses the girl as a sacrifice to awaken Akklor the Unbidden, one of the fabled Divine Beasts. The creature arises from its prison ready to do the bidding of the Gods of Darkness. The Herald flies off to awaken others and begin the war.

Trent and Devin finally make it back to the city and warn Ren about the impending doom. She promotes the two Paladins to become her new commanders in the coming struggle and places Castille in charge of the city's defense. The army of Light is mustered and they march out to meet the enemy in The Wilderness.

Teo, Rella, and the other Balance Monks futiley try and resist the invasion of Accursed and Demons. Their resistance shatters when another Divine Beast, Gaxxog the Incorrigible, arrives and begins slaughtering the defenders. The few who survive barricade themselves in the library of the temple and await their doom. A voice speaks in Teo's mind telling him that he must resist and survive the attack. Teo musters his companions and leads an escape. During this all but Teo are killed, leaving him the last known Balance Monk in existance. Teo stops running and begins to meditate when he hears the voice agian, anf it saus to him: "Teo, your God has need of you."

The armies of Light and Darkness meet on the battlefield and begin a pitched battle that lasts for several hours. Ren commands her forces to form a wedge to split the Accursed in two so that their numbers cannot be relied upon so easily. They begin to think that they have finally won when Akklor and the Herald arrive to turn the tide of battle.

The Fallen One returns to Infernaak and brings news of his plans to his companions Vardic and Rhenaris. The two other Gods of Darkness distrust his motives at first, but finally agree to help him crush the Gods of Light.

Akklor easily smashes the forces of Light, bringing the army to the brink of retreat. Ren tries to stop the creature, but she is removed from the battle by the Herald, who challenges her to a one on one fight. Trent and Devin gather up some of the remaining Paladins to lead an offensive against the raging Divine Beast, but the creature easily defeats them. Sensing their inpending deaths, Devin pushes his friend aside and jumps into the air, landing his axe in Akklor's eye. The enraged beast kills the lone Paladin in response.

Ren and the Herald continue their fight unaware of the state of Akklor and the Paladins who oppose him. Ren is finally gains the upper hand and prepares to kill the Herald when they are interuptedd by the death throws of Akklor. The Herald escapes and Ren finds that Trent has killed in beast in a blind rage before succombing to his injuries. Ren expends the last of her own energy to heal him before blacking out.

On the Divine Plane Arra decides that she can hide in Ayyslid no longer anf must go out to discover what has become of the Grey God. She does so only to find the Fallen One sitting on the High God's Throne. He taunts her for her failures before attacking her along with Vardic anf Rhenaris. Arra is mortally wounded and made to look into the Basin at the scene unfolding below.

The forces of Light enter into a full retreat as the armies of Darkness nip at their heels. After several hours of running it becomes apparent that escape is hopeless, and so Ren rallies her soldiers to turn and fight. The battle begins again and rages on for some time before the Herald again challenges Ren to a duel. This time she is easily defeated due to her now weakened state, and the gloating creature commands her followers to abandon her and worship the Gods of Darkness. Many of the soldiers do, to the ire of Trent who attempts to reach the woman whom he loves. Just as he gets close to Ren the sky is split open as Arra descends to the battlefield. She kills the Herald and scatters his forces before taking Ren back to the Divine Plane. Those wgo abandoned the Seraph she curses, causes them to transform into hideous monsters. Trent is singled out by the goddess and begins to undergo a transformation himself before he loses consciousness.

Characters

 * Trent
 * Devin
 * Ren
 * Arra
 * Samson
 * Luna
 * The Fallen One
 * Vardic
 * Rhenaris
 * The Grey God
 * Castille
 * Elise
 * Teo
 * Rella
 * Gil