Matthew Maine—The Voidwalker Saga

Tanzik held the lifeless body of his sister Tahari close as he sobbed with sorrow and rage in equal measure. The alarm bells rang throughout the city. The false attack on the Khayim estate had ended, leaving the city guard in disarray. The revolutionaries would regroup and put one of theirs in charge of the city, then formally declare their independence. But he didn’t care about any of that. His sister was dead, barely a day after he found her. Eventually, he heard the sound of footsteps rushing down the hill. He carefully laid Tahari’s body down and picked up his sword with a primal scream. “Hold up, we’re on your side!” One of them exclaimed. He had no weapons drawn and his hands were in the air, waving in a motion of surrender. “Part of the revolution, okay?” He looked down at the ground where Alqan’s corpse lay. “Got Lord Khayim, huh? And that’s… oh gods.” He knelt down beside Tahari. “Get away from her,” he said, his voice ragged with grief. “It was your bloody cause that killed h...

 Tanzik looked at his sister, now a stranger after almost a lifetime apart. “Tahari, you’re not an assassin…” He said incredulously. “And you’d know this how? You haven’t been here. You don’t know what it’s been like. The Empire stamped us into submission with trickery and deceit, and Alqan Khayin is the perpetrator responsible.” “But killing him? Tahari, how does this end? You kill one puppet, they’ll send another and put your head on a pike!” She shrugged. “Cost of doing business.” “I can’t believe you’d do this, it’s not like you.” “Then you clearly don’t know me. I’ve always done what it takes to protect my family. You remember the times I’ve stuck up for you, you’ve already told me that. I have to make sure that no one else loses their brother. Or parents. Or children.” She trailed off. “Tanzik, revolution against tyranny is grimy and ugly. I appreciate your idealism, but there’s no place for it in war.” “So what, you’ll wage a one person war against all of Makan? All of Monsc...