Book excerpt: When the Akiun warrior, Tulascarri, is poisoned, she loses her paranormal abilities. Betrayed and ambushed on the battlefield, she is left for dead. A Bandori man, one of those she was paid to kill, nurses her back to health. But what purpose could the gods possibly have for a broken warrior? Ayr of Whispers, priestess of the island of Athiera, discovers that one of the sacred stones is missing. Without it the island will perish. But the head of her order does not believe her, and Ayr learns she may be losing her mind. In the Desert of Broken Hopes, Tulascarri discovers redemption may be possible. On the island of Athiera, Ayr of Whispers dares to defy her superior, unaware her life is in danger. United by mysterious events, two women from different worlds embark on a quest to recover the Southern Rune, and in the process, they discover much, much more. A prequel set two cycles before the events of The Brotherhood of Sfarr, The Southern Rune tells the tale of how the warrior Tulascarri found her way back to the light.