Enter the Imperial Saga
The war for Tamarud lasted twelve years and devastated the continent’s people and lands. When the royal family was captured, everyone knew it was it was only a matter of time before their defeat, but the Empire shocked the people by executing all but the youngest two royals.
Fifteen years later, the continent of Tamarud has suffered under Imperial rule. After the massacre following the execution of the royals, the population is devastated, their numbers vastly diminished. Everyone in a fifteen year age group was murdered, leaving only older adults and those under twenty-five behind.
Now, the invaders, as those from the Empire are known, can kill at will, and wreak havoc on the people of Tamarud. Tamarudian culture has all but vanished as their books, art, and traditional buildings have been razed. Speaking their language is a death sentence, and they even have to choose Imperial names to avoid being killed.
In this chaos and destruction, Princess Tahirah is coming into her magical powers. As one of two surviving royals, she wields enormous power, power that makes her both threatening and desirable to the Empire. Her rise to power is marked with death and isolation, but romance and hope keep her going.
These five novels chart her progress as she gains her adult powers, and the increasing strength of her allies as well. Ari, a young man and the object of her affections, learns to stand on his own, and Jana, a young woman whose love for her girlfriend Leena is the only bright spot in her life, learns to take on a leadership role. Together, Ari, Jana, and Leena hope to help save Tahirah from the Empire. They’ll go to any lengths, but will it be enough?
Explore the Main Series
Find out more about the individual books here with word counts, status updates, summaries, and more.
The Mythology of Tamarud
Tamarud’s culture has been all but erased, but remnants remain, and there are those who continue to tell the stories of Lahara and her continent in the shadows. Each of the novels has an associated myth relevant to the events and characters of the story, and you can read these myths exclusively on this website. Dive into Tamarudian lore and risk the invader’s wrath as you learn the stories of Tamarud.
The Myth of the Scorpion Queen
When Tamarud was first created, the entire continent shared a pleasant climate and the creatures thrived. Now, however, the north is inhospitably hot, and the south is in a perpetual freeze. What changed this balance? Learn about Queen Alareab of the Scorpions for more!
The Myth of the Wolves
Once, all of the wolves were united and lived in harmony with the other creatures of Tamarud. Now, the anova wolves of the north hunt people for fun while the vasha wolves of the south work with people. What created this split? Learn more about the attack on Queen Zeinab for more!
Character Profiles
Tahirah sind Rebekah el Asham
Imperial Name: Tara Rosen
The child of the Queen of Tamarud and a phoenix guardian, Tahirah is hirim. That means she can use magic and has the compulsion to create phoenix eggs. Her first phoenix, Ryla, is no larger than a clenched fist, but when she creates a full-size phoenix egg, she’s bound to be caught.
After her brother successfully kills Queen Coral and is himself executed, Tahirah is the sole surviving member of the royal family. She was forcibly engaged to the Emperor after he failed to kill her, and is now in his custody and constantly plotting how to kill a man that she has discovered is immortal.
As Tahirah slowly adapts to life in the Imperial court, she is beset by new responsibilities and new people. Some might be allies, but some threaten everything she fights to protect. And as she unwillingly grows closer to the Emperor, she learns things she never would have expected.
Ari sind Rashid el Nahr
Imperial Name: Aaron Townsend
The child of a noblewoman and one of the generals in the war, Ari has lived as sheltered a life as his parents can give him. He’s faced death and discrimination, but still relies on his family to get by. For the past seven years, he and Tahirah have been inseparable, getting into as much trouble as possible while staying alive.
When Tahirah bonds him to her phoenix Endel, his life is forever changed as he becomes mara tayerna, a phoenix guardian. He has reunited with his uncle and aunt and, along with the dragon knights Jana and Leena, has been helping prepare a rebellion for when Tahirah kills the Emperor.
Away from his usual sources of support, Ari finds himself leaning on those around him for support, and that might not always be good when his uncle reveals his ugly nature. But some relationships are true, and he contents himself with his new friendships even as he wonders if his parents are alive.
Jana sind Amin el Anova
Imperial Name: Jenna Kinsey
The child of a general in the war, Jana has always been a troublemaker. Her mother died in the war, and she adores her father, who teaches her traditional stories at night despite the risk. At sixteen, she developed a crush for Leena that quickly turned into a romance. Seven years later, the two are never far apart.
After the destruction of Madi Anova, all Jana can remember is the look in her father’s eyes when he found that she had become a dragon knight, the same type of person he spent the war killing. Only Leena’s presence keeps her grounded as she faces the reality of life as a dragon knight and realizes she has to accept the responsibility.
Although Jana is confident in her role as a dragon knight, she still finds leadership to be difficult, especially since she and Ari decide that they need to spend time with Ari’s uncle every day and the man despises dragon knights. As Jana begins to find her footing among Ari’s uncle and the rebels, she loses ground in her relationships with the other dragon knights and must find a new way to lead.
Leena sind Nadia el Evenes
Imperial Name: Laura Thorpe
The child of two high-ranking nobles, Leena has always had a knack for machines. She’s constantly taking things apart and rebuilding them, to the occasional chagrin of her parents. She’s originally from Shana Alsharon, and has always faced discrimination from the other kids. Jana was the one to step up and defend her, leading to a close friendship that slowly evolved to love.
After Madi Anova was bombed, Leena climbed through the wreckage past her parent’s bodies to reunite with Jana and bond with a dragon. As Tahirah’s second dragon knight, she has taken it upon herself to find people to link with the remaining dragons. She seems undeterred by the hatred that the people of Tamarud have for dragon knights, but the pressures of the role can be difficult to carry.
Leena and Ari have teamed up to search for new dragon knights every couple of days, though their luck is limited and the threats immense. Her taste for danger is undiminished, and she looks forward to using her new status as a dragon knight to stand up to the invaders. With Ari and Jana at her side, there’s nothing that can stop her.
The Emperor
Imperial Name: Unknown
The Emperor rules over an Empire that currently stretches over seven continents. He has two key strengths that keep him in power: his ability to travel between continents, and his immortality. He took over Tamarud in the most violent way possible, wiping out the phoenixes and their guardians and massacring the people. However, he left the continent after the war ended.
On his last visit after his daughter Coral’s death, Tahirah’s abilities shifted his desire to kill her into a desire to control her, and he forced her into an engagement. Despite knowing about her murderous intentions towards him, he seeks ways to soften that hard edge and bring her in line with the thought that perhaps she could someday be Empress.
As the Emperor has gotten to know Tahirah, his anger at her presumed role in his daughter’s death has been replaced by something much warmer, and his icy exterior is beginning to thaw. Tahirah learns how he became who he is, and the Emperor’s humanity comes into focus despite the atrocities he continues to commit.
Willow Augustine
Willow works as a servant for a lady in the Imperial Court in Alongra, gathering information on the people and occurrences that make up the world of the Empire behind the scenes. She is not present in this book.
Willow continues her work, and her close relationship to the Emperor becomes closer as he considers for a new job. She is not present in this book.
The child of presently unknown parents, Willow makes her first appearance in the series when she becomes Tahirah’s servant in order to help her adjust to the Imperial Court. Her ability to observe people and manipulate them to do her bidding gives her insight into how to navigate the world of the court, but her help might come with a cost.
Queen Coral
Coral grew up in the royal court in Alongra. When she was fourteen, she fell in love with the eighteen-year-old Maren, a dragon knight recruit. Despite her manipulations, he refused her advances, and she retaliated throughout the war on Tamarud. Now, she rules Tamarud with an iron fist, but has a soft spot for Tahirah, who reminds her of Maren.
Alas, Coral was murdered by Tahirah’s brother Prince Khalid in Rise of the Phoenix.
Coral’s memory lingers as the Emperor continues to mourn her, but he pushes past his grief with the practice of an immortal who has lost loved ones for centuries.
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