MEET THE CHARACTERS
Kings and princes. Warriors and servants. Mortals and immortals. Every soul casts a shadow.
THE ROYAL HOUSE OF JEBUS
For generations, the House of Adonizedek has ruled from the citadel above Jebus. But as enemies gather beyond the city walls, the greatest threats to the royal family may come from forces no king can command.
ADONIZEDEK
King of Jebus and patriarch of its royal house. Adonizedek has spent his life protecting a city his ancestors ruled for generations. A seasoned warrior and formidable king, he now faces a changing world in which strength, walls, and armies may no longer be enough to preserve everything he has built.
FRIGG
Queen of Jebus and matriarch of the royal family. Frigg possesses a quiet strength that balances her husband’s commanding presence. Fiercely devoted to her family and the kingdom they rule, she understands that the survival of a royal house depends upon more than warriors and fortified walls.
THOROS
Firstborn son of Adonizedek and heir to the throne of Jebus. Towering even among seasoned warriors, Thoros has been raised from birth to inherit both his father’s crown and the responsibility of defending their kingdom. A husband, father, and warrior, he carries the future of his family as heavily as the weapons he bears.
SIV
Wife of Thoros and mother of Magni and Thrud. Striking, athletic, and strong-willed, Siv carries herself with the confidence expected of a woman within the royal house. Yet beneath that strength is a deep tenderness toward her husband and children—and a fierce determination to protect the family she loves.
BAALDIR
Second-born son of Adonizedek and prince of Jebus. At fourteen, Baaldir is tall for his age, curious, adventurous, and far more interested in the world beyond the palace than in behaving like a prince. His friendships often carry him beyond the boundaries of royal life—and toward dangers he does not yet understand.
VITHAS
Youngest son of Adonizedek and Frigg. At eight years old, Vithas is still young enough to experience the royal household as a family rather than a dynasty. Curious, observant, and surrounded by those determined to protect him, he remains largely innocent of the dangers gathering beyond the walls of Jebus.
MAGNI AND THRUD
The young children of Thoros and Siv, Magni and Thrud have been born into a royal house whose future seems secure behind the formidable walls of Jebus. At five years old, they know little of kingdoms, war, or the forces gathering around their family. For them, the citadel is not a fortress or seat of power. It is simply home.
LOX
A mysterious figure within the royal household, Lox stands close to the family without ever seeming entirely part of it. Pale, watchful, and difficult to read, he carries knowledge—and secrets—that reach far beyond the walls of Jebus. His place beside the House of Adonizedek is no accident, though few understand the true reason he is there.
HUGINN AND MUNINN
Two ravens whose presence within the royal household is so familiar that few give them a second thought. They watch from rooftops, windows, and palace walls—silent witnesses to the lives of those who rule Jebus. But in a world where ancient stories sometimes prove dangerously real, even ravens may be more than they appear.
BEYOND THE PALACE WALLS
Not every life in Jebus is lived within the citadel. In its streets, markets, workshops, and homes are the people who give the city its soul—and whose fates will become intertwined with those of the royal house.
NATHAN
Baaldir’s closest friend and frequent companion. At thirteen, Nathan has no royal blood or privileged place within the citadel, yet his friendship with the prince carries him into a world far beyond his ordinary life. Loyal, courageous, and resourceful, Nathan discovers that history does not reserve its greatest trials for kings and warriors.
RAMAH
Nathan’s mother and wife of Ahmet. Warm, generous, and deeply devoted to her family, Ramah earns a little extra money by baking and selling pastries from their home. Baaldir spends much of his time there with Nathan and has grown especially fond of her—though Ramah has little interest in accepting the young prince’s attempts to repay her kindness with royal coin.
AHMET
Nathan’s father, Ramah’s husband, and a guard within the palace of Jebus. Ahmet is a good man with an unfortunate weakness for easy fortune. Wagers, gambling, and promises of a “sure thing” have cost him more than one week’s pay—and more than a little patience from Ramah.
His duties within the palace often place him near Lox and the dungeons beneath the citadel, though he understands little of what truly lies within their depths. For Ahmet, the dangers facing Jebus are distant things—until events beyond his control threaten the person he loves most.
JEROBOAM
A shepherd, warrior, and trusted companion of David. Quiet-footed and observant, Jeroboam possesses the patience of a hunter and a remarkable talent for moving unseen—skills learned while protecting his flocks and sharpened through years of war. Left-handed and exceptionally skilled with a sling, he is one of the few men whose accuracy may rival David’s own.
Unshakably loyal to David, Jeroboam is equally valuable as a scout, spy, and fighter when a mission demands something other than brute force. But beneath Jebus, his courage will be tested against an enemy unlike anything he has encountered on the battlefield—and his survival may depend upon a power greater than his own skill.
BEYOND THE MORTAL WORLD
The people of the ancient world believed gods, spirits, angels, and darker things walked beside them. In Awaken The Dark, some of those ancient stories are more than myth. They are memories—and the most dangerous forces are often those that find something waiting for them within the human heart.
TSALMAVETH
An ancient being known as the Shadow of Death. Imprisoned for ages and denied a body of his own, Tsalmaveth can walk among the living only through the flesh of others. Patient, cunning, and consumed by an ancient hatred, he has watched generations of men rise and fall while waiting for the opportunity to shape the world once again.
But Tsalmaveth’s greatest weapon is not his supernatural power. It is his understanding of the darkness already present within mankind—the grief, anger, fear, pride, and desire that can turn an ordinary person into something far more dangerous.
THE SHADES
Once human, the Shades are hollow remnants of the people they once were—gaunt, silent figures who move through the darkness in service to Tsalmaveth. Whatever remains behind their vacant eyes has been stripped of freedom, identity, and will.
They watch. They hunt. And when they emerge from the shadows beneath Jebus, they rarely come alone..
MEN OF WAR
Beyond the walls of Jebus, armies are gathering. Israel is rising, the Philistines remain a formidable power, and warriors whose names will echo through history are being drawn toward the ancient city. Some fight for kings. Some fight for kingdoms. And some believe they fight at the command of God.
DAVID
Once a shepherd, now one of Israel’s most celebrated warriors, David has risen from obscurity to command armies and inspire a loyalty that reaches far beyond his rank. Giant-slayer, tactician, and leader of the formidable men who have followed him through years of war and exile, his victories have made his name known throughout Canaan.
Yet David remains caught between what he has been promised and the king who still sits upon Israel’s throne. His faith in Elohim is unwavering, and despite everything he has endured at Saul’s hand, he refuses to seize by force what he believes will be given to him in its appointed time. Now the road before him leads toward Jebus—and a city whose walls have defied Israel for generations.
JONATHAN
Son of King Saul and one of Israel’s most accomplished warriors, Jonathan had already become a legend on the battlefield before David ever lifted a sword. Courageous, disciplined, and fiercely loyal, he has spent much of his life fighting to defend the kingdom his father was chosen to rule.
But Jonathan’s deepest loyalty is increasingly difficult to define. He loves David as a brother and believes Elohim has chosen him for Israel’s future, even as Saul remains both his father and his king. As the struggle for Jebus draws closer, Jonathan finds himself standing between two men he refuses to betray—and a future that may ultimately force him to choose.
KING SAUL
The first king of Israel and once one of its greatest warriors, Saul remains an imposing figure whose victories helped unite the tribes and establish a kingdom. Chosen and anointed to lead his people, he earned a reputation for courage on the battlefield. But Saul has long been plagued by periods of darkness—torment of the mind and spirit from which even the sound of a young shepherd’s music once brought him relief.
That shepherd was David. Saul first welcomed him, loved him, and brought him into his household. But as David’s victories multiplied and the admiration of Israel increasingly turned toward him, affection gave way to jealousy, fear, and eventually hatred. Though the two men have since reached an uneasy reconciliation, the darkness within Saul has never entirely released its hold.
Now, as Israel gathers against Jebus, Saul still wears the crown. David waits for the future Elohim has promised him. And somewhere between them stands Jonathan—Saul’s son and David’s closest friend.
JOAB
David’s cousin, loyal captain, and one of the most formidable commanders in Israel’s army. Joab stood beside David during the years when Saul hunted him and earned the respect of his men through a simple principle: he would lead them into battle himself—and would not retreat until the last of his men had been brought safely away.
Now entrusted with command of the siege against Jebus, Joab is a soldier first—practical, determined, and willing to do what victory demands. His loyalty to David is unquestioned, but with the seemingly impregnable walls of Jebus before him, even Joab may discover that some enemies cannot be defeated by strength of arms alone.
GOLIATH OF GATH
Champion of the Philistines and a warrior whose very name inspired fear throughout Israel. Goliath of Gath was a giant among men—an imposing veteran whose strength, size, and reputation allowed him to stand before an entire army and challenge its greatest warrior to single combat. Instead, a young shepherd stepped forward carrying a sling and five smooth stones.
History remembers what happened next. Goliath fell, David became a legend, and the giant entered history as the impossible enemy defeated by a shepherd boy. But history records only what those standing in the Valley of Elah could see. Something else stood upon that battlefield that day—and when David walked away from the fallen Goliath, he was not the only one to leave the valley.
EVERY SOUL CASTS A SHADOW
Kings and shepherds. Princes and servants. Warriors, immortals, and things that have waited centuries in the dark. Their paths converge upon Jebus, but the battle for the ancient city will not be decided by armies alone.
Every person carries something within them—love, grief, ambition, loyalty, fear, anger, faith. And when darkness comes, it does not always create what it finds. Sometimes, it simply gives what was already there the power to emerge.
The Valley of Shadows 