The city of Hrith, once a nexus of divine power, now crumbles under the weight of forgotten gods. Its people, shadows of their former selves, scratch a living from the dust of abandoned rituals, their hope as barren as the land itself. Roan, a young farmhand, yearns for more than this desolate existence. In a twist of fate, a handful of ancient herbs, a family heirloom, ignites a spark that will reshape his world and challenge the very nature of divinity.
The aroma of the herbs, a fragrant plea lost to time, pierces the veil between realms, awakening Lysander, the emaciated god of harvests. His hunger is not for earthly sustenance, but for the essence of his fellow forgotten gods. He tasks Roan with an impossible quest: to prepare a Revival Feast, a celestial banquet capable of restoring the pantheon to its former glory.
The ingredients are scattered across the ravaged domains of forgotten deities, each guarded by mythical creatures and imbued with terrifying power: the Egg of Eternal Night, pulsating with cold, ethereal light within a petrified forest; the Salt of a Dying Ocean, its crystals sharp enough to flay the soul; the Honey of Whispers, harvested from bees that feed on the secrets of the dead.
Roan’s perilous journey leads him to Anya, a cursed sommelier whose wine flows upwards, defying the laws of nature, a constant reminder of a past transgression. Her words are as sharp as the glass shards that haunt her dreams. He then finds Theron, a war chef whose culinary skills are matched only by her prowess in battle, burning with a quiet rage against the absent gods.
This unlikely trio, bound by a shared purpose yet driven by individual desires, embarks on a quest that will test their resolve and unravel the hidden truths of the gods they seek to revive. As they gather the ingredients, the world around them transforms. Dormant energies stir, and the land pulses with renewed life. But this resurgence carries a sinister undercurrent. The resurrected gods, drawn back to the mortal realm, are not the benevolent figures of legend. Their appetites are insatiable, their demands escalating, and the very land groans under the weight of their return.
Roan realizes the feast he prepares may not be a celebration of rebirth, but a prelude to destruction. Confronted by the terrifying splendor of the resurrected pantheon, he faces a harrowing choice: unleash the full might of the gods upon a world unprepared for their return, or defy them, risking their wrath and Hrith's demise.
In a moment of desperate inspiration, Roan subverts the ritual, infusing the feast not with reverence, but with the potent blend of human resilience, sacrifice, and hope. The gods, expecting a surge of divine power, are met with a wave of raw human emotion, a force they had long forgotten and underestimated.
The ensuing clash is a battle of wills. Anya’s cursed wine becomes a weapon, Theron’s culinary skills a shield, and Roan’s defiance a beacon of resistance. The gods, overwhelmed by this unexpected surge of mortal energy, are forced to retreat.
Hrith remains in ruins, but its people are no longer defined by despair. Roan, Anya, and Theron, forever changed by their journey, become unlikely leaders, guiding their city towards a future shaped not by divine decree, but by human will. The gods are not vanquished, merely subdued, a lingering shadow, a reminder of the delicate balance between the mortal and divine. The aroma of the subverted Revival Feast lingers in the air, a testament to the enduring power of human resilience and the unexpected magic that can bloom from the ashes of forgotten rituals.

Gabrielle Kerr

Books