Oaths, Fate, and the Rising Year

The year turns, and with it, the shape of fate shifts.

In the old northern stories, no year truly begins without an oath. Not always spoken aloud, and not always made willingly—but carried all the same. An intention. A promise to endure what’s coming, even when the road ahead is buried beneath snow and shadow.

January has always felt like a threshold month to me. A moment of stillness before movement. A pause where the future presses close, but hasn’t yet shown its hand.

That feeling sits at the heart of The Rising Tides of Ragnarök.

In this world, fate is not gentle. Oaths are not symbolic. They bind, they linger, and they demand payment—sometimes long after the one who swore them believes the debt forgotten. Every story I write in this universe is shaped by that tension: how much is inevitable, and how much is still chosen.

This year begins with the release of Ebonhearted.

Ebonhearted: A Fulfilled Oath

Ebonhearted grew from questions about loyalty and cost—about what happens when devotion becomes a form of survival, and when the heart hardens not from cruelty, but from necessity. It is a story shaped by dark devotion, impossible choices, and promises that cannot be unmade.

At its core, it asks what it means to remain true when the world offers no clean answers.

For readers already familiar with the world of The Rising Tides of Ragnarök, the pull of old gods and older obligations will feel familiar beneath the surface. For new readers, Ebonhearted stands as a strong entry point into the saga—a place where fate and resistance collide early, and never fully disentangle.

With its release, one oath has been fulfilled.

But in this world, fulfillment rarely brings rest.

Looking Ahead: Hunting Royalty

Later this year, Hunting Royalty will follow.

Where Ebonhearted lingers in shadow and devotion, Hunting Royalty turns its gaze toward pursuit, power, and the dangerous space between predator and crown. It is a story concerned with hierarchy and hunger—who is allowed to chase, who is allowed to rule, and what happens when those roles are no longer clear.

It has been circling my thoughts for some time now, tightening its grip with each revision, and I’m looking forward to releasing it into the world when the moment is right.

The Year Ahead

The year ahead holds more than new releases.

It holds unanswered questions, characters who are not done testing their fates, and paths that may still diverge. It holds deeper explorations of myth, belief, love shaped by pressure, and the long pull toward Ragnarök that touches every horizon in this world.

Here, on the site—and in The Valkyrja’s Siege, my monthly newsletter—I’ll continue to share pieces of that journey: reflections on lore and writing, glimpses behind the scenes, and quiet missives from a world where oaths matter and fate is never finished with you.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for walking these roads.

The tides are rising.