Zed had never believed in God, much less the supernatural. So when he finds himself thrust into an entirely new Universe with no hope of returning, he quickly realizes he must adapt or spiral down into the depths of darkness he'd been struggling with his entire life: his own mind. Upon being pulled through a portal and deposited in a space between, devoid of body and left as merely a soul, he meets Aethos, the God of the System, who reveals that there may be no way back to his old way of life, but they can help him find a new one.

Choosing to push on despite the pain, a process he is intimately familiar with, Zed finds himself on Ackellia in a new body and unfamiliar power, his welcome setting the stage for the harsh new reality he finds himself a part of. A Zenithal Warsmith—a warrior-smith with the body of a bird-human hybrid more powerful than he could ever have imagine, though he has a long way to go to catch up—he must navigate an entirely new Path, this time quite literally, in a world entirely unfamiliar to him. He might just not have to do it alone, if Abenjiirin has anything to say about it. .

"Warsmith" is a tale of self-discovery, resilience, and acceptance as Zed embarks on his journey through a Universe he'd only ever thought of as fantasy, grappling with not only his newfound abilities, fighting the hoards of Beasts brought on by the Confluences, but also with the haunting memories of his traumatic past. Together with Abenjiirin, he forges his own path on the road he may not have wanted to travel in the first place, but might just be worth it in the end.

Author's Note:

Contains LGBT themes. The Romance aspect is a co-plot to the progression. They don't even meet until page 200 so it's not like every page, but my plan is to have Zed explore this portion of his identity as he navigates the other struggles he encounters. As any protagonist does, he has a lot of trauma that has resulted in some pretty heavy dissociation from his own wants and needs so he has to come to terms with finding himself and some of that includes his sexuality. Is he actually gay or is it just because Abenjiirin is the nicest person he's ever encountered? Is he actually romantically interested in Abenjiirin or is this just his inner human reaction to seeing a cute cow person? Is the fact that he's no longer human interfering with what he would otherwise have found attractive, et cetera, et cetera. It's a lot of emotional exploration that ties in with how the progression works in this Universe. To know yourself is to accept yourself and to do both is to find your way down the Path you've found yourself on.