Crestborn: Crown of the Wild

Silas Hale has already died once. In his first life, forbidden knowledge cost him everything. In his second, he is born the son of a broken village blacksmith in a world where blood decides power—and monsters decide how far that power can grow. At five, every child awakens an Eidolon. Some inherit lions, blades, dragons, or the ancient Legacies of noble Houses. Silas awakens a Wildvine. A weed. Then the testing crystal reaches its limit. And a second Eidolon answers his call. In Valeria, talent is only the beginning. Every ten levels, a Bearer reaches a wall. To advance, they must enter the wilds, hunt an Aetherbeast, claim its Crest, and permanently choose the next step of their path. One wrong Crest can cripple a lifetime of potential.One perfect hunt can create a legend. Armed with two Eidolons, techniques from a life no one knows he lived, and secrets his father would rather die than reveal, Silas steps beyond his forgotten village and into a world of monster-haunted forests, elite academies, ancient Blood Houses, and a Concord whose power reaches farther than any crown. And somewhere beyond it all waits the truth every Bearer knows: Nine Crests form the Crown. Silas intends to find out what lies beyond it.