Strangling of the Ocean Serpent

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In this final entry to the Ocean Serpent Prequel Trilogy, an old sage documents the waning days of the tumultuous and morally ambiguous Kezz'arg Dynasty and the Sendyne Empire.

Emperor Kibbo Kezz'arg has three sons that might inherit their father's crown. Kagimus, the eldest, shows a keen mind and has his father's respect. Kwelton, the sociopathic and miscreant middle son, longs for a chance to get rid of his older brother or win his father's favor, even if his nature will never allow it. Klarton, the youngest son, is a brain-damaged simpleton who will never possess the skills needed to tame the empire, at least on his own.

Captain Rotilla Voxinus is enjoying a meteoric rise through the Sendyne ranks, due to his swordsmanship, command skills, and his family's friendship and loyalty to the Crown. He is more like a brother to Kagimus Kezz'arg than the latter's own kin.

When all three Kezz'arg princes are sent to Pheloquot, to join Voxinus and his superiors, they must learn to work together to root out rebels and rabble rousers, while putting aside their differences. However, some differences are difficult to mend, and the alluring and seductive daughter of a nobleman adds fuel to the fire. Oluraa Plondark is an exotic beauty that catches not only the eye of Rotilla Voxinus and Pheloquotian locals, but the attentions of Kwelton Kezz'arg as well.

In the vast, untamed deserts of Western Sendya, exiles, religious outcasts, and all manner of criminals and vagabonds wander the landscape. Some of them await a Messiah that will change their world, while others mold events themselves. When one unfortunate heretic is brutalized and banished to live there, the elites in Ecstasy Bay have no idea what kind of ramifications his exile will bring, changing the course of history forever.

Meanwhile, far to the east, on the tropical desert island of Unaple', young Imak al Avkar finds himself locked up briefly in the terrifying Black Basement Prison. While he delves deeper into a life of violent crimes and drugs, his brother, Akasi, seeks out a future at the School of Scholars, working hard to make the family proud. While Akasi loves his troubled brother, he may find himself on a collision course with disaster, as the siblings struggle to carve out their own place in this fringe province of the Sendyne Empire.

In the Sendyne capital of Ecstasy Bay, Abbilonn Shayzzar has patiently waited for years, carefully sculpting his chance to see his family seize total control of the empire. His son, Abyll, has taken control of the financial systems via the Conglomeration Bank, while they work through the Cabal to cripple the Kezz'arg dynasty from within. The Shayzzars' connection with occult knowledge is unrivaled, matched only by their manipulation of money and the other Great Broods who jockey for positions beneath the demonic Vannunkye overlords that they all serve.

Delve into the final years of the Sendyne Empire, before the events of the main trilogy, and get ready for a backstory of epic proportions. Brutal warfare, political intrigue, complex family histories, religious conflicts, and occult secrets await...