The Rifted (The Riftborn Chronicles, #1)
Description
In a world where magic is bound by colour, one boy awakens with none.
The Empire of Ithuriel stands divided among seven Orders of magic, each jealously guarding its power and weaving a sacred lie: that the Void beyond the Veil is only destruction. But the truth is far older and far more dangerous. The Void was once the Source itself-radiant, whole-until betrayal shattered it into hunger and silence.
Ren Cael, an orphan abandoned at a village inn, never expected more than a quiet life of chores and lantern festivals. But when a knife meant for his throat halts midair at his unspoken command-without colour, without incantation-his life unravels. Declared an anomaly by Archmagister Corvallis and dragged before the Academy, Ren discovers that he is not fire, not shadow, not storm-he is something else. Something feared. Something erased from the histories.
Placed among the Orderless-students cast out from every Colour-Ren finds allies as strange as himself: Kael, a flame-born warrior with too much defiance for Ignari discipline; Riven, a scion of nobility whose poise hides a blade; Silas, an Umbrancy exile walking with shadows; Tyven, an alchemical prodigy too reckless for Verdara; and Lira, a silver-haired seer whose visions may already know his fate. Together, they begin to uncover the Empire's deepest secret: the Rift did not destroy magic-it only twisted it. And what sleeps beneath the Isle may yet awaken.
Visions plague Ren-a white flame split into seven, the betrayal of the Devoured, and a staff cradling a flame without colour. The Orders watch him as a weapon, a heresy, or a last hope. And beyond the Veil, something older stirs. It knows his name. It has been waiting.
To restore balance, Ren must decide: hide with the ones he has grown to love, or step into the rift between worlds and risk everything to mend what was broken. But to heal the Source, he may have to unseal the very wound bleeding darkness-and summon what has slept for millennia.
The Rifted is the opening volume of The Riftborn Chronicles-an epic fantasy of shattered truths and forbidden magic, perfect for readers of The Wheel of Time, The Death Gate Cycle, and Daughter of the Empire. Rich worldbuilding, a revolutionary magic system, and characters bound by love, exile, and prophecy drive this tale of belonging, betrayal, and the thin line between salvation and ruin.
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Person
Dr. Marc Emile Oosthuizen is a scholar, storyteller, and world-builder whose work bridges the divide between the real and the imagined. Holding a PhD in International Relations from the University of Johannesburg, he has lectured widely on diplomacy, global politics, and the power of narrative in shaping societies. His academic career spans publications in World Affairs Journal, Journal of BRICS Studies, and African Renaissance, where he has explored diplomacy, governance, and the transformative potential of emerging technologies.
But behind the scholar stands the storyteller. From a young age, Marc was captivated by epic tales where myth, politics, and destiny entwine. His fiction carries the depth of a researcher and the passion of a dreamer, weaving intricate magic systems, political intrigue, and the emotional struggles of characters caught between ruin and rebirth.
The Riftborn Chronicles is his debut epic fantasy saga ? a sweeping six-book cycle of fractured Orders, forbidden magic, and a boy marked to either reweave the world or destroy it.
When not writing or teaching, Marc can be found travelling, sketching maps of imagined worlds, or losing himself in the vast sagas that first sparked his love of storytelling.
