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Breakthroughs in weaponry, improvements in manufacturing, increases in crop yields, and swelling populations are threatening to destroy the status quo that has existed since the dawn of man. Today’s headlines? No, the year is 3158 BCE. The place is the river Tigris in ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).
For untold generations fierce barbarian horse warriors have ruled the land, killing or enslaving the small farming communities. Dawn Of Empire is the story of how the peaceful village of Orak resolves to stand against the invincible horsemen determined to maintain their way of life.
To survive, Orak must do something never done before: build a wall strong enough to withstand the horsemen. But a wall requires resolute men to defend it, and the village leaders ask Eskkar, an experienced fighter, to lead them. His family murdered by these same horse warriors, makes Eskkar willing to risk his life for a chance at revenge. Nevertheless, saving Orak will take more than just knowing how to fight. The village leader gives Eskkar an educated slave girl, Trella, to help him plan Orak’s defense, and to keep him out of the ale house at night.
Trella has plans of her own. She understands the ways of the powerful, and sees both opportunity and danger as she’s handed over to Eskkar. Trella knows that even if her new master succeeds in saving Orak, the village elders will surely get rid of him when the crisis passes. While her master organizes Orak for the coming battle, she maneuvers to ensure they will not only survive, but rule together after the horse warriors are driven off.
The battles begin. Eskkar ambushes an advance force of horsemen, then fights delaying actions to give Orak time to complete the wall. Meanwhile, despite the danger to themselves, the village leaders see their own power slipping away as Eskkar’s popularity with the people grows. They strike back with assassins, and Eskkar and Trella find themselves fighting enemies within and without as Orak is besieged.
In the final battle, the savage horsemen confront the determined defenders across the top of the wall. No matter what the outcome, Eskkar has grown from a fighting man into a true leader, and, more important, from master to lover. Together they’re going to turn the village of Orak into mankind’s first walled city.
Will they succeed? Read Dawn Of Empire to learn the answer. The first three chapters are presented here - Dawn Of Empire Preview.
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