The Orchard of Hanging Saints

In the south, the saints do not rot.

They hang.

Preserved in a forbidden orchard where blood is harvested like fruit, their whispered prophecies sustain an empire built on obedience and terror. When Elowen discovers the truth behind the hanging bodies and the engine buried beneath their roots, she ignites a rebellion that starves the empire's most sacred weapon.

But severing the harvest awakens something older.

Beneath the orchard lies a Devourer-an ancient force that feeds on sanctity twisted ...