The Lord of the Pond

<p><strong>The Lord of the Pond</strong></p><p>In the Pondlands-where kingdoms rise on lily pads and shadows lurk beneath every reed-power doesn't merely flow...it <strong>devours</strong>. And the corruption simmering beneath the surface is older darker and deadlier than any creature dares whisper.</p><p>Centuries ago the Seven Ripple Stones held the world in fragile harmony each thrumming with a primal force: Fate Flow Flame Frost Storm Shadow and Spirit. But that balance shattered the day ancient frog-lord Malakar broke his sacred stone and fused its essence into his own blood. The act unleashed a tide of darkness that drowned the pond in war and left entire kingdoms sinking beneath cursed waters.</p><p>Now the prophecy stirs once more:<br><strong>When the Twin Moons kiss the pond the heir of lightning shall rise.</strong></p><p>Kael Croakson-lightning-marked silver-scarred and feared by those who sense his hidden fire-has lived quietly on the pond's edge. But peace ends when a black mist swallows his village and assassins from the Order of the Veil arrive to erase him. One storm-slashed night Kael's dormant power erupts in a burst of blinding fury obliterating an army of swamp-shadows... and sinking half the pond with it.</p><p>Rescued by Serena Vale a renegade mage-toad cast out of the Court of Light Kael awakens in the Sunken Sanctum-a rebel city carved beneath the waters. Here a rising resistance gathers to reclaim the lost Ripple Stones before the Veil can resurrect Malakar through the forbidden ritual known as <strong>The Binding of the Deep</strong>. And the rebels now know the truth they dare not speak aloud:<br><strong>Kael's blood is the final key to awakening their greatest enemy.</strong></p><p>With a band of unlikely yet fierce companions-Lyra Finn the haunted archer; Tarn the Shade a shadow-stealing salamander; Eira Shellen an alchemist snail with deadly brilliance; and Korra Stoneback the storm-forged turtle blacksmith-Kael journeys through drowned kingdoms cursed ruins and currents twisting with treachery.</p><p>But as Kael's lightning power grows so does the voice inside him-ancient venomous and terrifyingly familiar:<br><strong>My spawn.</strong></p><p>A horrifying truth sparks: he is not merely the heir of lightning.<br>He is Malakar reborn.</p><p>When the twin moons rise and the Veil summons an army from the Abyss Kael must face the choice destined to break him:<br><strong>Destroy the Ripple Stones and end all magic forever... or claim them and ascend as the Lord of the Pond ruler of light and shadow alike.</strong></p><p>In a final battle atop the Mount of Reeds-where storms collide with shadow and lightning rends the heavens-the fate of the Pondlands trembles. A single blinding flash ends the clash... and when the mist settles Kael is gone.</p><p>But in the silent heart of the pond a lone froglet emerges-two faint ripples glowing upon its skin beneath the moonlight.</p><p><strong>And so the legend of the Lord of the Pond begins again.</strong></p>