Shadows Over the Wildlands: The Arath Saga Book 2

The deeper Xavier digs into Arath's corruption, the more sinister the truth becomes. Infiltrating the slaver stronghold of Ironhaven, he uncovers a conspiracy centuries in the making... one that marks the Animari for eternal bondage. But not all chains are visible. When he meets Lythara, a succubus bound by an infernal pact, Xavier faces an impossible choice: defy a devil-backed kingdom, or become its next pawn. As the earth stirs beneath Rynthavael, rebellion ignites, but every act of freedom comes with a price.

Alex's life was boring, and then he died. When he woke, he met with a goddess who offered him a chance at a new life in a wondrous world of magic and fantasy, complete with all the game mechanics and interfaces he had grown to love in his video games. In this new world he has taken a new name, Xavier Ardynvael, and he has found a companion in Ella Bree, an enigmatic woman who holds a mystery.

Xavier also founded a new settlement, Rynthavael, with around fifty villagers calling him Lord. The village is growing rapidly, and buildings are going up daily. His people embraced a fresh start of their own after the town of Bramblegate, their prior home, had been destroyed by raiders. Xavier went on to rescue one of the children and, in doing so, awakened two of the ley lines that made up the nexus beneath the settlement.

He has delved into dungeons and completed quests but in all honesty, was just starting. That was until his latest adventure led to him being taken captive and carted off to the Animari settlement of Verdantspire Haven. There the elders charged him with a quest to assist in freeing some recently captured members of that community. Teamed up with the beastmaster Lianna and her twin brother the assassin Liosan they tracked down the raiders holding the captives and attacked. The fight was brutal and quick but unfortunately, for Xavier at least, it ended with a sword through his heart and darkness taking over his senses.