Azshure Raine Novels

Threads of gold, ancient and dangerous, pull them together; a bond neither can deny.

Jase Raion receives an unexpected assignment—locate and retrieve a girl he was certain was dead. 

Expecting nothing, he goes to Brighton—a port town on the island of Aria—and finds her.

The girl who escaped the fall of Aria.

The girl who bears the symbol of Eternity.

The girl whose blood the Titan of Time thirsts for.

Liya Fairaway, the Princess of Aria, and his target. 

The moment he sees her, he knows she is not safe, 

from the Zodiac meant to protect her, the Titan of Time, nor his father—the King of Chall.

The sins of his past haunt him. He longs for the quiet life, away from the responsibilities of his crown, but a missive, an apple, and a girl all change his life in a heartbeat. And he is forced to face his fate—and his father. 

The world believed she was dead—for the past ten years. Keeper blood wiped her memories and her family hid away her from the world, hiding her from the Titan of Time. Now she is hunted. 
The Titan of Time thirsts for her blood and her soul. 

Tasked with keeping the Princess of Aria safe for the past 10 years after the fall of her kingdom, Reve takes her job seriously. Jase’s arrival throws a wrench in the peace that Reve had established.

Tokei is the older of the Fairaway twins, by about thirteen minutes. Ever the rock for the family, Tokei brings common sense to the group when things get out of hand, or tensions are on the rise. He is unwilling to use his strength to his advantage, but is always willing to lend a helping hand.

The owner of “The Style of Undall,” and the ship “The Seaglass.” 
Having traveled since a child, June has extensive knowledge of how the world works. She is one of Liya’s protectors, and friends. Her fire isn’t easily extinguished. 
Jase’s lineage doesn’t give her pause, like many of the others. She knows there is something more to the prince.

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The Titans

The History Told

Fate grew fond of these short-lived creatures and accepted them. Time—did not. Arguments ensued between the Titans, and out of rage, Time transformed Mother Urth into the Mother Tree and dissipated Father Sky into the clouds. 
The passage of time wasn’t recorded until Mortal Man was created. On the 29th day of the 2nd month of the First Year, Fate tricked and trapped Time within the roots of the Mother Tree. Though, before she could die, Time ripped her soul into two and sent the shard into the In-between to be reborn. It is said that day was the first time the Mother Tree bloomed. Oleander flowers, the size of grown men, grew from the hanging vines. Every four years, when the blooms returned on the 29th day of the 2nd month, the survivors celebrated. 
One thousand years to the day a child is born with the symbol of Eternity. 
Shortly after, Time would be freed, Fate would be divided, and the Prophet would be made to see.

Time kept the Eternal Clock. The source of magic within the world of Gaea. The Zodiac inscribed on the large ringed stone represented how time passed. Time shattered the Keeper of the Stars into twelve to create the Zodiac. But that is a story for another time.
Fate oversaw life and death. She kept the world balanced. The ebb and flow of existence rested on her shoulders. And if something tipped too far in the wrong direction, she corrected it.

Urth and Sky handled more physical attributes of the world. The sky, the earth, flora, and fauna. To them, something was missing, so Urth and Sky created Mortal man. Using the very earth she felt between her toes, Mother Urth formed the first mortal. Father Sky breathed life into the formed clay and this was how mortals were born.

The Keepers

The Keepers came into being as Urth and Sky moved to create Gaea. 
As far as history is concerned the Keepers have all died out in some form. The most well known Keeper is the Keeper of the Stars. His death contributed to the creation of the Twelve Zodiac. 
The Keeper of Souls, Flames, Gaea, Heavens and Dreams are all missing and presumed deceased.

The City States of Gaea

Trivia: Simple as it looks. Chall has a strong connection to fire. Chall was a simple combination of charred and all.

Symbols: While Chall does have a strong connection to fire it is also closely connected to its animal, Lion. Of course, our resident Zodiac is Leo. So I decided to use his Zodiac as a basis for his home. Now, five years ago, Chall’s seal was slightly different. Before the interference of the Titan of Time, the seal was a Lion head backed by double swords. After her gift of firearms, King Soren Raion commissioned a new seal. The current is a lion head backed by both a sword and a rifle. Its currency bears the seal as well as the bust of the current King’s head. 

Military-wise, Chall is very strong. With the advent of firearms, even the much larger Undall has reservations about going against the powerhouse. King Raion also has many assassins and mercenaries at his disposal under the banner of the Ashen Guard. 

Ten years ago, King Raion expanded his territory by taking over and destroying Aria. 

The majority of Chall is poor. King Raion keeps his wealth to himself while his people suffer. 

The most notable event aside from the acquisition of Aria was how King Raion rose to power. Regicide is the way of succession in Chall. Sons killing fathers. Princes killing Kings. The act makes the father proud, but the way Soren ascended left a black mark on his rule.  

For years his father was sickly. He was also a kind, caring ruler, unlike his son. Soren eventually tired of his father’s weak rule and killed the sickly king in his sleep. 

A young Soren Raion assumed the throne through this act.

The crown still rests firmly on his head.

First is a bit of trivia! When I was making up names for my locations I decided to draw on the elements as well as their location in the world. Aria was name as such. I had initially intended on four based locations. Air, fire, water and earth. Aria morphed into both air and water. It is a small island off the cost of Chall. I scrambled up Air and slapped an A at the end. Thus Aria was born. 

Unfortunately as a Kingdom, Aria, no longer functions as such. It is now chiefly used as farming lands for Chall. Their major export is green and golden yellow apples. Varieties of fruits and vegetables also go there. Blackberries, carrots and ginger. Although garlic is hard to come by. 

The symbol for Aria. A wreath of flowers surrounding a phoenix clutching an apple. Readers will find that apples are very significant in the story of The 13th Zodiac. The phoenix was chosen as the animal symbol to promote rebirth from the flames of a fallen kingdom. 

Aria once had a decent-sized navy.  Since absorbed by Soren and his own. The flag of Chall flies over the castle and the Regent Lord Roland oversees it when Soren is not present. 

The people of Aria are fair-skinned with varying shades of blonde to brown hair. Brighton is the major hub after the destruction of the castle. Ships come in and out of port daily. Brighton has become a tourist trap of sorts. People come for their small shops, a variety of imported wares, and beaches. 

Soren’s overreaching influence taxes tourism and drives it in a way that benefits him. Aria was forced to cease most trade with Undall. Now only select merchants make the month-long journey to Undall for v