Shardless (Tempris #1)

-An excerpt from the imperial scrivener’s collection of unclaimed letters from the Shade Rebellion, housed at the Arylaan Archive

Dearest sister,

If you can spare your son, I have need of a healer. To my great surprise and most ardent joy, Abel returned from the front last month. However, I have noticed a change in him. At first, I believed that, given time, he would be able to move past the horrors of the front, but now, I fear it may be something else. From the smell, I suspect a lingering infection.

All our village’s earth mages have been called to the front line, and our menders aren’t able to diagnose him. They have prescribed a draught to help him sleep, but it hasn’t helped. He never sleeps, he barely eats, and he has begun to lapse into fits of delirium. Occasionally, he’ll come back to himself and speak a few words. In those brief moments of clarity, I’ve been able to make him eat a few bites of food, perhaps lie down to rest, but these instances are becoming more and more rare.