Evander

He ran from a kingdom in flames. Now, to save it, he must become what he was born to be.

On the Night of Ashes, Prince Evander fled a kingdom consumed by fire and betrayal. His sister Lysara seized the throne with blood and dark magic, twisting the Solaris Tree - the source of Cardania’s life - into a weapon of control. Evander vanished into the enchanted Veilwood, trading royal silks for soil and silence.

But peace was never meant to last. When a cursed duke crashes into his garden, carrying warnings of rebellion and ruin, Evander is thrust back into a world he tried to forget. Haunted by his father's failure, hunted by his sister’s forces, and guided by the ancient magic in his veins, Evander must decide whether he is ready to become more than the boy who ran.

To save Cardania, he must stop his sister. To stop her, he must embrace the power she fears most.

A story of magic, legacy, and reckoning, Evander is a sweeping fantasy about the cost of destiny and the courage to claim it.

This is the 14k word debut novella by Alasdair P Stephenson.