Origin of Pietas: Bringer of Chaos

Origin of Pietas

Meet your worst enemy — who's also your only hope.

Traitors stripped immortal king Pietas of every single thing he'd fought for and exiled him on a deserted planet.

His only hope of finding his people lies with the human who imprisoned him.

That doesn't mean he'll humiliate himself by asking for help. Enough is enough.

Pietas already died a thousand times to save them. How much more can he sacrifice?

But when the immortal's actual survival depends on the one thing he swears does not exist—the honor of a human—he's faced with a startling question. One that makes him rethink his life's mission.

What if the enemy he hates is the salvation he needs?

Tropes include: Genetic Engineering, Enemies to Friends, Tragic Past, Space Marine, Revenge

Excerpt

In this scene, Pietas experiences an unfamiliar situation — having a mortal friend.
"My father would get so angry with me, Six. He'd say it under his breath, but I heard. He'd call me useless. I say that about myself."

"How can you think of yourself as useless? You're the most powerful Ultra ever created. Everybody knows that."

With a twitch of his fingers, Pietas dismissed the praise. "It is not how I feel. If I were telepathic, I could have found my people by now. If I were telepathic, I wouldn't have gotten us marooned on an alien world. No, my father was right. When it comes to telepathy, I am useless."

"Wow." Six tossed part of a small branch onto the fire, sending sparks spiraling upward. "Biggest pity party I've ever been to."

Pietas leaned on one hand to face Six. "What is a pity party?"

"When you feel sorry for yourself and expect others to do the same thing 'Poor me. Look how I'm suffering.' That's a pity party."

"Excuse me for sharing how I felt."

"You were doing fine, until you said you were useless. I don't care who told you that. It's a pure out-and-out lie and you know it. To let anybody else's opinion of you keep you from being your best..." Six threw down the stick. "Look, Ultra. That's not you, okay? Listen to me. I sat with you while you were nothing but two big blue eyes, and blackened skin stretched over bones. You couldn't lift your head, you were so weak. You tried not to show how much pain you were in, but I could see it. I could hear it in the way you panted, trying to breathe. The way you hobbled about as if all your bones were broken. But you fought like a caged animal to get your strength back. I will never accept any lie about you being useless. You're one of— No, you are the strongest person I've ever known."

The pride at those words from so dear a friend—a human friend—brought tears to his eyes. Pietas turned his head, and blinked them away.

Characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

~ Copyright ©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!

To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join me on Ream Stories!

Bringer of Chaos Series

Lights Out: Bringer of Chaos

He can save humanity. All he has to do is die. Again.

Join the Ghost Corps, they said. You'll live forever, they said. You'll save humanity, they said. They didn't say that to do it, first he had to die.

When Tornahdo signs on the dotted line, he puts his life into the steady hands of the mighty Ghost Corps. Three grisly deaths and three agonizing resurrections later, he's assigned duty on the space station Enderium Six.

He's facing his most dangerous mission yet, the very reason the corps exists.

Do they expect him to win? Fat chance. Tornahdo and his team are already dead and this mission is codenamed "Lights Out." No, there's more to this than he can see.

To discover the truth, he must face an unbeatable, unkillable enemy, and this time--somehow--find a way to keep himself alive...

Get this book plus an illustrated behind the scenes book, free when you sign up for Kayelle Allen's newsletter.

Bringer of Chaos: Origin of Pietas

Available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook

Traitors stripped the immortal king Pietas of everything.

Now, marooned on a deserted planet, his only hope of finding his people lies with the human who imprisoned him.

That doesn't mean Pietas will humiliate himself by asking for help. Enough is enough. Pietas already died a thousand times to save them.

But when he realizes that without humbling himself before a mortal, he will never find his exiled family, he must decide how much more he's willing to sacrifice.

His salvation relies on the one thing he swears does not exist.

The honor of a human...

Where to buy

Universal buy link https://books2read.com/origin-pietas

Support me by buying direct https://payhip.com/b/XIRU6

Forged in Fire: Bringer of Chaos

Available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook

Exiled on a barren world...

When the immortal king Pietas is marooned with no food and few survival tools, he knows

Half a million of his people sleep in cryostasis, trapped in their pods and it's up to him to rescue them.

He must manage it with an irascible mortal, an entire tribe of know-it-all sentient panthers, and one fascinating woman who's telepathic as well as the designer of their people's finest weapons.

All while dealing with the most dysfunctional family in the history of forever...

Where to buy

Available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook

Universal Buy Link https://books2read.com/forged-pietas

Support me by buying direct https://payhip.com/b/QtGHj

Bundle #1: Bringer of Chaos

Available in ebook

Science Fiction and Space Opera Series

If you're fighting immortals who always get back up, you'd better have a way to do the same thing. Otherwise, it's lights out...

When you're a soldier genetically enhanced to the point of near immortality and you fight a mortal soldier resurrected with the pilfered blood of your people, friendship never enters the equation.

But what if the enemy you despise holds the key to your salvation?

Where to buy

Universal Buy Link https://books2read.com/boc-bundle1

Support me by buying direct https://payhip.com/b/nA132

Watch Your Six: Bringer of Chaos

He can save everyone on the planet, except the one person he's most afraid to lose.

Pietas leads the immortal Ultras, a people untouched by death. Like them, he is invulnerable. Unbreakable. Until he makes a mortal friend.

At his side stands Six, once a deadly foe, now the brother-in-arms Pietas trusts more than any person on the planet. Enemies had transformed Six from human into a quasi-immortal Ultra-killer. Fate united them.

Six's metamorphosis is not permanent. Before long, he'll revert to what he was before they changed him. Dead. Ultras revive after death. Six won't. Six will linger before succumbing to a painful end.

Pietas cannot lose his shield brother. Not like this.

But to save his friend, Pietas must abandon his most sacred vow and indulge in the one sin he swore he would never again commit....

Where to buy

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Characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

~ Copyright ©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!

To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join me on Ream Stories!

The blood of my enemies #SciFi #PietasFans

Updated on 03/15/2024 by Kayelle Allen

In this scene from Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas, Pietas undergoes a ritual used on the planet Kaffir is summon spirits. "The blood of my enemies trickles into the pool of time," he proclaims.

My Enemies

Early on the first morning of the peace talks, Pietas entered his round bathing room. Starlight filtered through the portal overhead. Sleek silver walls reflected the cool light.

He remained at the door, content to savor its calming glow. Its beauty did not dispel the worry niggling at his mind. Not given to trusting premonitions and omens, he grounded himself with meditation. Once he centered himself and calmed his spirit, Pietas took a deep, purifying breath, and with slow deliberation, exhaled.

"Time to begin. Lights."

The room brightened.

He shed his silk robe and let it fall at his feet. Nude, his platinum hair streaming down his back and chest, he lifted his hands, palms up as if praying. On the planet Kaffir, warriors used this ritual to summon spirits. He used it to affirm his own superior strength and prowess.

Before a copper fire pit, he plucked one blond hair, and fed it to the fire. It singed and melted.

"As fire has victory over life, so I have victory over my enemies."

He passed a hand through the flame, and hissed at the searing heat, relishing the pain. He cupped his hand over the flame's source, and held it until the fire went out. The burns on his palm cooled and as he watched, the skin healed. Of all the elements, fire alone had power to linger on an Ultra's skin. He welcomed it as a symbol of victory.

"I am powerful, as fire is powerful."

Pietas thrust both hands forward, clutched his fists, and yanked them back. "I own the wind. I prevail over the breath of my enemies."

In the bathing area, he took six steps down into a waist-deep pool.

"Water submits to my presence the way enemies submit to my will." He cupped water in his hands, lifted it, and let it pour down his arms. "The blood of my enemies trickles into the pool of time, is absorbed, and forgotten."

He pushed wet fingers through his hair, and released it. "My mind is clear. I do not waver."

He submersed and rose, head thrown back, face lifted to the sparkle of stars above. "My body submits to my will. No pain defeats me. No fear touches me."

He swept his hands down his chest to his loins and the tops of his thighs. "My will is absolute."

A scratching sound alerted him to the presence of his silver-skinned android servant. The creature entered, and Pietas fixed him with a hard glare. "Why did you interrupt me?"

"Your guest is here, my lord, in the living area." He offered Pietas a towel.

"Leave it." He waved the android away.

After exiting the pool, Pietas brushed off the water and wrung out his hair. He pulled out a tray holding half a dozen clasps. He chose a silver dragon studded with six turquoise stones, twisted his wet hair, and fastened it up, out of the way.

He dried his face, gathered a brush, and picked up a pot of black face paint. Leaning in close to a freestanding mirror, he outlined a bandit's mask from beneath his eyes to over his dark eyebrows, and filled it with black.

He'd worn the mask in battle ever since defeating the First Division, a human special-ops group formed to fight Ultras. It came about because Pietas had slain an enemy, and blood splashed across his eyes. Thinking the blood belonged to Pietas, the Ultra troops had rallied to him and slaughtered the humans. The blood dried almost black.

Stories of how their "bandit king" had conquered the First Division filled the night. The name stuck. To his troops, he was First Conqueror, War Leader of the Ultras.

Pietas turned his head side to side, surveying the effect.

His body would reject foreign matter on his skin. The Ultra metabolism protected from every perceived attack, even harmless face paint. He closed his eyes and sprayed sealant over the mask to delay its disappearance by a few hours.

Satisfied with his looks, Pietas pulled on a pair of loose white lounging pants. With a deep, cleansing breath, he opened the door. Damp, shirtless, barefoot, he padded into the adjacent room.

Immortal Council member Pietas ap Lorectic, warrior leader of the Ultra race, wants nothing to do with faithless, lying humans.

The inferior race may have created his people, but they used them as slaves, not powerful beings with rights of their own. Upon discovering humans captured and tortured his people, Pietas declares humans deserve no offering of peace. They deserve conquest and elimination.

When the Ultra High Council agrees to peace talks, Pietas grudgingly complies. Arriving at the space station Enderium Six, he discovers his psychic gifts are diminished and suspects a trap. A deadly fight between Pietas and altered-humans of the Ghost Corps ensues. Cornered, out of options and with his beloved mother's life at stake, Pietas surrenders.

Now a captive of the people he loathes, Pietas is left for dead on the barren planet, Sempervia. Six, a member of the Ghost Corps abandoned with him, offers food and water. Is this altered human worthy of friendship? Or is the offer of shelter a ploy to gain his own protection?

Either way, Pietas must do the one thing he detests. Trust a human...

Characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

~ Copyright ©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!

To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join me on Ream Stories!

Posted in Fallen Empires | Tagged Blog Hop, Bringer of Chaos, Immortal Heroes, Kayelle Allen Characters, Origin of Pietas, Pietas, Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels, Sempervians, Ultras |

Oh no. This is going to be trouble. Excerpt from Lights Out #SciFi #MFRWhooks #FreeBook

Updated on 03/15/2024 by Kayelle Allen

From across the bar, Ravenstongue sauntered toward him. "Why you here?"

Tornahdo kicked back in his chair. After stretching out his legs, he crossed his ankles. "Why do you care?"

"Big ops tomorrow. Lights out in ten. Time for you to go home and go to bed."

Behind the bar, the keeper closed up shelves and battened down doors.

"Yeah?" Tornahdo flicked a hand toward the door. "I'll follow you out."

"I'm not leavin'. Didn't you hear? We passed inspection with the highest scores. Got a free night out." Ravenstongue jabbed a finger toward Tornahdo. "But you gotta go home like a good boy."

In no kingdom in the galaxy would that happen.

Ravenstongue lifted two fingers, signaling his cohorts.

The keeper ducked behind the bar while the goons flanked their wannabe boss, imbecilic grins in place.

A pair of demons usually sat on Tornahdo's shoulders. The bad demon laid out strategy while the good demon discouraged action. Tonight, the good demon flipped a middle finger toward Ravenstongue with a not-so-subtle suggestion to kick his ass.

Tornahdo took his time rising, slid his chair under the table. "What did you say?"

"I said, 'You gotta go home like a good boy.'"

Hanging his thumbs in his belt, Tornahdo gave him a slow smile. "Go back to the bar, finish your drink and we'll pretend we're all friends and leave together. This is your last chance for a peaceful end."

"Peaceful." With a scoff, Ravenstongue jerked his head toward Short Goon. "You hear that?"

"Yeah. Maybe we oughta do what--"

Ravenstongue jabbed him with an elbow.

"I mean, yeah! I heard that." He leaned closer to his boss. "We gonna?"

"No, you idiot. Shut your face and back me up."

How did these hotheads enlist? Ghost Corps must have been desperate for bodies. Literally. A fighter's corpse they could reanimate. Which was a sobering thought.

Was that what the corps thought of him?

Lights Out by Kayelle Allen

He can save mankind. After he does one important thing. Die.
Join the Ghost Corps, they said. You'll live forever, they said. You'll save mankind, they said. They didn't say that to do it, first he had to die.
When Tornahdo signs on the dotted line, he puts his life into the steady hands of the mighty Ghost Corps. Three grisly deaths and three agonizing resurrections later, he's assigned duty on the space station Enderium Six.
He's facing his most dangerous mission yet, the very reason the corps exists.
Do they expect him to win? Fat chance. Tornahdo and his team are already dead and this mission is codenamed "Lights Out." No, there's more to this than he can see.
To discover the truth, he must face an unbeatable, unkillable enemy, and this time--somehow--find a way to keep himself alive...

Posted in Character Insights | Tagged Bringer of Chaos, Forged in Fire, Immortal Heroes, Kayelle Allen Characters, Lights Out, Origin of Pietas, Pietas, Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels, Sempervians, Ultras |

Did you ever dream a story? #MFRWhooks #SciFi

Updated on 03/15/2024 by Kayelle Allen

When You Dream a Story...

I started writing the Bringer of Chaos series when I was seventeen years old. I was sound asleep at home, dreaming about walking the length of a vast receiving chamber, heading for a woman who sat on the throne at the end. The empress was the twin sister of a dangerous man who was not present. He was older than she but he wasn't the king. I didn't know why he wasn't at the time, but that fact worried me. Honestly, to dream a story was never something I thought I could do, but there it was.

I had to walk through rows of soldiers who stood at attention, facing forward. I could not see their faces. I was not afraid to approach the throne. The woman looked amused at how long it took me to reach her. I kept walking and walking but never seemed to get closer. I turned around to see how far I had come. That's when I saw the faces of the soldiers, and my breath caught.

Every one of them had the heads of gray cats.

I woke up and sat straight up in bed.

Why that image should have been so frightening, I don't know. No one was attacking me. No one glared at me. They just looked right at me, and that was enough. To this day, I can see that image.

From that dream was born most of the Tarthian Empire series. The woman on the throne became Empress Rheyn Destoiya. The cat-headed soldiers became the Praetorian Guard, peopled with the Kin, a feline-humanoid race. My Kin do not have cat-heads but they are quite catlike and have pointed ears higher up on their heads than a human's.

Her missing, older brother became Pietas, hero of the Bringer of Chaos series. Discovering Pietas has been a lifelong attempt. Below is an excerpt from the book for you to sample, and you can download the entire first three chapters here.

Excerpt from Forged in Fire

In this scene, Pietas discovers that his friend, Six, has been taken hostage.

"Are you looking for this?" His father's unmistakable voice came to him before the man's faint outline revealed itself in the dark.

Mahikos had captured Six and pressed a knife blade to the ghost's throat. At the point where the blade dug into him, blood oozed.

The blank passivity on his friend's face revealed what Pietas had feared. Six had been compelled into submission. He would stand there and let Mahikos kill him.

Rage propelled Pietas forward.

"That's far enough, Son." He dragged Six backward. "Unless you want your own hands covered in this human's blood."

Pietas ground his teeth. "I will end you, old man."

"Will you?" Mahikos dug the knife edge into Six's neck. "You dared bring this abomination into our camp after it threatened your mother--the woman I love--and you want to end me? This thing is going to die by my hands!"

Posted in Blog Hop | Tagged Bringer of Chaos, Forged in Fire, Immortal Heroes, Origin of Pietas, Pietas, Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels, Sempervians, Ultras, Writing |

Supersoldiers: no going back #PietasFans #SciFi #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Updated on 02/25/2024 by Kayelle Allen

Supersoldiers

The hyper-metabolism of Ultras made reproduction impossible, with one set of twins the sole exception. Enhanced by their warrior/scientist parents to protect them, the twins mastered the skills of science and war.

The physical superiority of Ultras led to a revolt against their human masters. By the Terran year 4436 AD, they ruled the galaxy. Mankind served. Humans repented ever creating Ultras, but there was no going back.

A million Ultras roamed the Terran Crescent and the Colonies of Man, and they ruled the starways, trade, and commerce. By the end of the First Cycle of Wars, the lowest of the subservient races was human.

After a century of brutal resistance, the last pockets of beleaguered human rebels were offered a treaty. Certain it was a trap, the humans sent spokespeople who were "expendable." But the reality turned out to be far different. Instead of more oppression, the High Council of the Ultras offered humans a seat beside them as members of the council.

The trap, however, was indeed there. What humans didn't suspect was that one group of Ultras had banded together to eliminate the other. The "peace talks" were merely a way to trick the Ultra Council into being in one place at the same time.

How did they manage the coup? The answer lies in Origin of Pietas.

Pietas had been the villain in many of my books and always fascinated me. I knew there was more to him than I could see, but like a shark swimming in the deepest waters, he was always moving, and always out of sight. As I began writing Origin of Pietas, he started coming into focus. The water grew less murky, and he swam closer to the surface. Instead of the cold eyes I expected to see staring back at me, I found a person with heat, passion, and an unstoppable hunger not just for revenge, but also truth.

Pietas is bigger than life. Larger than a legend. One of the most complex characters I've ever written. Pietas is the key to every story in my universe. All of them hinge on his influence or presence.

Where should you start reading? Back where it all began, with the free book Lights Out. This link takes you straight to the book. No signup required.

Characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

~ Copyright ©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!

To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join me on Ream Stories!

Posted in Fallen Empires, Science Fiction Books | Tagged Origin of Pietas, Pietas, Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels, Sempervians, Ultras |

Tag Archives: Origin of Pietas

Origin of Pietas: Bringer of Chaos

Immortals Rule the Empire

Where to buy

Origin of Pietas

Excerpt

Video for Bringer of Chaos

Bringer of Chaos

Bringer of Chaos Series

Bringer of Chaos

What if the enemy you hate is the salvation you need?

Lights Out: Bringer of Chaos

Bringer of Chaos: Origin of Pietas

Where to buy

Forged in Fire: Bringer of Chaos

Where to buy

Bundle #1: Bringer of Chaos

Where to buy

Watch Your Six: Bringer of Chaos

Where to buy

Video for Bringer of Chaos

The blood of my enemies #SciFi #PietasFans

My Enemies

Bringer of Chaos

Oh no. This is going to be trouble. Excerpt from Lights Out #SciFi #MFRWhooks #FreeBook

Uh oh...

Lights Out by Kayelle Allen

Origin of Pietas

Forged in Fire

Lights Out

Did you ever dream a story? #MFRWhooks #SciFi

Did you ever dream a story?

When You Dream a Story...

Excerpt from Forged in Fire

Origin of Pietas

Forged in Fire

Supersoldiers: no going back #PietasFans #SciFi #SpaceOpera #MFRWhooks

Creating a Legend

Supersoldiers

Bringer of Chaos

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