Place
Lastford Border Keep
The last garrison before the Ash Marches. Grain, iron, salt and silver still pass its gate; the crown's protection no longer does.
Eight sung ballads and a novel in progress, from the last garrison on the Ash Marches — where the king's road ends and the law thins with every mile.
The Novel — in progress
The Shade of Blackwatch
Lastford Border Keep · Book One
The ballads are what the Marches remember. The novel is what actually happened — told by the engineer's daughter who arrived on the back of a wagon and never left.
“The country had grown bleak over the past two days. The green fields and wooded hills had given way to bare grey ridges and broken volcanic stone. Ash lay across the road and gathered in every hollow.” Chapter One
The Songbook
Every ballad, in the order it was sung
The Chronicle
What the songs are about
Order
Blackwatch
Those who hold the keep. They ride at dusk, they keep no graves, and they ring no bells. Their whole creed is two words long.
Person
Brenimir, the Wolf
Feared across the wastes as a legend, remembered inside the walls as a cost. Four of the ballads follow him; one buries him.
Person
Anya
An engineer's daughter, a midwife, a healer. Her hands will pull you back from death. They do not save you from what follows.
Join the Watch
Be told when the next ballad is sung
One letter per song — the lyrics, the artwork, and what the chronicle says about it. Nothing else, and never your name to anyone else.
