Rise of the Carrion Lord — Joel Harris

Sargaards life began in horror. He was orphaned when Corsairian raiders decimated his village. The evil Lord of the Abyss, Kataclysmos, placed a dark spell on Sargaard when he failed to capture the frightened lone survivor. Sargaards future, muddied with betrayal, greed, and death, was cast. However, within hours good fortune smiled on him and his miserable fate was altered when the future king of Bovania found and adopted him. The country welcomed their newest noble son: Sargaard, the Prince of Bovania. As the years pass, jealousy and discontent darken the heart of Sargaard leading to his shocking ultimate act of treachery and permanent exile to the Dying Lands. It is here that Kataclysmos resurfaces to claim his prized Dane and fuels the fire of hatred in Sargaards soul transforming him into the Carrion Lord. With an army of carrion beasts amassed to destroy all that stands before them, the Carrion Lord embarks on a journey to embrace his destiny and exact his revenge. Bovanias only hope is Sargaards childhood friend and former Academy classmateSkeld, and the motley group of dogs King Sven assembles to unite the land against the evil that comes. Will the words of the Oracle hold true? Can Bovania unite against Sargaard and his horde? As the final battle unfolds true friends and true enemies will be revealed. The inspiration for Rise of the Carrion Lord came from years of pondering the question: What if dogs had their own world apart from humans where they walked as we do, talked as we do, and were completely human-esque, but still dogs?