The Omens of War by Livia J. Elliot

A philosophical fantasy of Thucydidean politics, eldritch intellects, and psychological horror woven into fractured timelines. The peace between Firard and Sestel teeters on the edge of collapse. In the fortress of Egon Hold, strategist Dante Praeto becomes the unwilling host of the War a simulated battle fundamental to rising in the ranks of Firard’s Legions. As the contestants march towards the ravine shared with their enemy nation, a landslide swallows the soldiers within. Across that ravine, Lady Calya Seve guards the Sestelii frontier, aware the War Games will provoke a diplomatic upheaval. She deals in treaties and political alliances, but little does she know the next threat isn’t coming through the border. Unbeknownst to them, both are pieces in a larger a game played by eldritch beings for whom entire nations are little more than tools, and humans mere pawns. For in the end, the alchemists of The Orders will unleash chaos in their eternal pursuit of arcane knowledge. The omens of war will be heard by all. Psychologically intense, and written for readers who read to solve.

Adult • Literary Fiction • Horror/Psychological • Fantasy/Dark

Length: 135,000 words (about 386 pages)