Where Fate Breaks

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Stacked 3D mockups of the hardcover novel Chronicles of Arynbel: Where Fate Breaks by Ryan Bryce, showing a dark fantasy cover with a cloaked figure, ancient stone gate, and glowing blue relic.

Where Fate Breaks is a dark fantasy novel set in Arynbel, a kingdom once ruled by divine soulmarks bestowed by the goddess Elara. The marked are given purpose. The unmarked are feared as omens. Now, fate itself is beginning to fail. 

The Hollowborn, people born without Elara’s gift, are hidden, hunted, and burned. All while the Weave holding the realm together begins to unravel. Lysaen is a Hollowborn woman raised in secrecy. When she uncovers an ancient relic during a Veilrupture beneath Ashveil, the artefact awakens and forces her into flight. Its power draws the attention of the Aurents, masked enforcers of the Conclave’s divine law, who see both Lysaen and the relic as threats to sacred order.

Hunted across a fractured kingdom, Lysaen must survive long enough to discover what the relic truly is, why it answered her, and what may be waiting at the edge of the Veil.

Among those sent after her is Veyric, a disciplined Aurent Veilbreaker whose faith begins to fracture as he encounters truths his Order was never meant to face. As Lysaen flees south toward the haunted shores of Mournvale, Veyric follows with growing doubt, drawing them both into a struggle far older than the collapsing kingdom around them. 

What begins as a hunt becomes a reckoning over whether fate was ever divine at all, and whether breaking it will save Arynbel or doom it forever.

Meet the Author

Portrait photo of author Ryan Bryce sitting outdoors at a picnic table, with trees and grass in the background.

Ryan Bryce

Tide Soulmark.

Ryan Bryce is a Canadian author, game developer, and worldbuilder from Ontario. He grew up drawn to stories where ancient ruins, hidden truths, and impossible choices shaped the lives of ordinary people. His love of storytelling began with fantasy novels, video games, mythology, and the kind of ancient, half-forgotten places that seem to hold secrets beneath the stone. This evolved into actively seeking and creating stories where evolving layers of unseen fates shape the lives of ordinary people.

He has spent most of his life creating worlds, first through games, art and design, and now through fiction. He is the mastermind behind Chronicles of Arynbel, a dark fantasy world shaped by soulmarks, fading divinity, haunted ruins, fractured faith, and the people who are forced to live outside their divine fate. His stories blend atmospheric worldbuilding with character-driven fantasy. It explores survival, identity, belief, sacrifice, and the cost of defying sacred order.

Before turning more fully toward fiction and independent creative work, Ryan built a multidisciplinary career across game development, simulation, technical art, and interactive media. That background continues to shape his writing, giving his worlds a visual, lived-in quality and a strong sense of place, movement, and consequence.

Ryan lives in Ontario with his wife, children, and a pug named Sir Percival. When he is not writing, designing games, or expanding the world of Arynbel, he enjoys hiking, archery, reading, and spending time in nature. This thirst for adventure translates fully into the shape of his worlds, and offers a beautiful open world narrative that invites the reader to take their own adventure.

Meet the Artist

Portrait photo of the cover artist smiling outdoors, with rocky hills and water in the background.
Blade Soulmark.

Julian Bauer is a freelance illustrator and designer, based in Germany. His work includes, but is not limited to, matte painting, cover artworks and designs, and 2D game concepts and assets. Please feel free to send a message to him if you would like to work with him.

Collage of fantasy artwork featuring characters, ruins, mountains, forests, and atmospheric landscapes by the cover artist.
Fantasy landscape artwork by the cover artist showing a misty mountain valley, distant ruins, cliffs, forest, and dramatic light breaking through clouds.
Fantasy flower artwork by the cover artist showing a glowing pale blossom growing among dark roots, bark, and warm atmospheric light.

Meet the Editor

Stylized caricature portrait of editor Rosie Plum with dark hair, glasses, and a green sweater against a pale green background.

Rosie Plum

Veil Soulmark.

Rosie Plum is a Canadian creator. Growing up she  consistently had her nose in a book and a paintbrush in her hand. She followed wisps of curiosity into new worlds where even the smallest creatures made a world of difference. 

This curiosity drove her to learn more about how things work, and what shapes fate at its purest form. From there with the worlds she had explored, she pushed to start building her own. Creating worlds where fate and magic run hand in hand, and choices impact everything. Specifically  pushing to make things that will resonate with others. 

Now in her career, she works as an editor and content creator, to help bring whimsy and adventure to the people who know where to look. She is a creator, illustrator and writer outside of working in Arynbel, and prior to moving full time into her creative career she worked carefully polishing all avenues in compliance and historian fields. 

Plum now lives with her partner, two cats, and one audacious dog, where even the smallest moments are grand adventures. Outside of work, you can still find her creating, with a nose in her books, or taking up the mantle of hero, in any number of games.