In the frozen north of the Dragon's Teeth mountains, the people of Umbralund dwell in the shadow of a dead goddess. The Umbrians established Death's church - the Temple of the Raven Moon - and for generations, the temple has trained assassins and clerics of death in order to bring balance to a world plagued by the undead. But power and control are often confused, and the legacy of death is perverted by the living.
For her entire life, she had known only obedience and pain and humiliation. When Dorsha Grimtone found the abandoned baby, her only thought was escape from her abuser. When she took on the role of mentor for the foundling, her intentions turned toward revenge.
Now, on his eighteenth birthday, Nijil Icefeathers must prove his worth to the church that raised him and made him a killer. A fallen priest plans to use forbidden necromancy to resurrect his dead daughter - a blasphemy that is unforgivable to the faithful of Death's church. In order to kill him, Nijil must delve deep into the heart of an ancient Dwarfen kingdom full of unknown dangers. But to survive the descent, Nijil needs to make an ally of a monster born in the darkness of the Abyss: a chimera.
Haunted and hunted, Nijil must come to turns with his own monstrous nature and the many sins of his past, or else be destroyed by the same forces that seek to control his fate.
"Death Defying" is an exploration of trauma, loss of purpose, and the work necessary to face our complete selves.
