Dawn of Defiance: The Breaking — Andi Neal

Dawn of Defiance is the second volume of the thrilling fantasy short story series, Kingdom of Destiny. The Breaking is the third of five episodes within the volume.

A recent college graduate finds himself in an alternate world he never knew existed. Dealing with castles, kings, and betrayal, he will have to use his considerable wits if he is going to face his fate in the Kingdom of Destiny.

Ryder has spent all of his life dreaming of what lies beyond his father's small Baricoan farm. But when a mysterious man falls at his feet from the sky, he finds himself caught in a whirlwind of dangerous adventure that transports him beyond any dream he could have imagined. Now he has no choice but to venture into the unfamiliar territory of his kingdom's greatest enemy. However, when he and his companions are forced to flee south to avoid the greedy emperor, Ryder discovers an oppressed people desperate for relief and inadvertently lays the foundations for the land's Dawn of Defiance.

No longer safe in the village that has been protecting them, Ryder and his friends are guided to a remote monastery, where Ryder is taken under the wing of a quirky monk insistent on teaching him mysterious life lessons. But their new refuge is short lived as they are once again forced to flee when soldiers storm the monastery.