Forged in Flames — Gaja J. Kos

This is not a tale of redemption. It is not a path to inspire dreams. It is the rise of Lakrius. The man of many names. The deceiver of time. The king of fortune lost. When Avvyr is taken into a mythical forest on the coast of Lianthe, he realizes there is a deeper, grimmer truth to every story. Even his own. In his nineteen years of life, Avvyr has only ever followed the rigid code of survival, not making a stand even in the most difficult of circumstances. Yet now, working as a blacksmith for noblemen who flirt with madness and chase tainted prosperity he cannot ignore the impulse to act. But while his intentions are pure, the journey he brings upon himself thins the divide between light and darkness, entrapping him in the very cage he had wanted the world to escape. Forged in Flames is the older, sinister brother to The Iron Head Trilogy. The novel can be read as a standalone, or after the trilogy for maximum enjoyment.