Autumn 501 RA—During this century of peace, Eredian undergoes several small linguistic alterations (detailed more thoroughly in my passages on how language widened the Erlend-Alona-Nacea divides) and the name “Eredan” begins appearing as “Erlend” in historical documents.
Winter 502 RA—Mizuho reopens its ports for foreign trade.
Summer 542 RA—The Berengard borders along the eastern mountain line are activated. Mages attempt to penetrate the borders but fail. All contact with Berengard is lost.
Spring 543 RA—Lord Gaspar del Weylin claims Alona’s northern territory of High Water is unfairly claimed Erlend land.
Summer 543 RA—Erlend’s army occupies High Water. The Third Star of Nacea Namrantha Brielle withholds yearly tributes to Erlend in protest of High Water occupation. The First and Second Stars follow in kind. The second civil war begins.
Autumn 543 RA—Mizuho denounces Erlend’s invasion as a violation of the Erlend–Lona Treaty signed by the nations after the end of the first civil war. It announces intentions to support Alona.
Winter 543 RA—The southern Erlend town of Bosque de Lex vanishes. Erlend demands retribution, but Alona denies involvement.
Nothing just vanishes without a little help.
Spring 544 RA—Lord Mattin del Aer attacks Caldera Lake in Alona, claiming that they must “even the scales of justice after the massacre of Bosque de Lex.” There are no survivors.
Summer 545 RA—The Mizuho navy assaults the coasts of Erlend, forcing a withdrawal from the eastern lands.
Autumn 546 RA—Lord del Weylin leads a successful attack against the Alonian army stationed in the Snakespire Mountains.
Autumn 546 RA—High Mage Celso de Lex announces the successful creation of mage shadows and their addition to the Erlend army.
Winter 546 RA—During the nine-day battle in Poppy Green, fifteen-year-old Isidora da Abreu becomes the youngest person to achieve Royal Physician rank in the lands east of the Blue Silk Sea.
Spring 547 RA—Priestess of the Mind Marianna da Ignasi refuses to surrender her students as combat mages to their respective countries of origin. Alona withdraws request. The siege of the Thrice-Blessed School by Erlend begins.
Summer 547 RA—The last remaining member of the Alonian High Council, Arleen dal Oretta, is assassinated.
Autumn 547 RA—Rodolfo da Abreu assassinates High Mage Celso de Lex and his assistants.
Winter 547 RA—The Erlend army loses control of the remaining shadows. The areas from the western Field de Contes to the southern tip of the Bay of Glass are quarantined and considered lost. Only seven survivors are recovered after Priest of the Soul Nicolas de Contes bilocates across the border.
Quarantined my ass.
Spring 0 EA—Priestess of the Mind Marianna da Ignasi banishes magic and its creations from Alona and Erlend. The Runed Age ends and the Empty Age begins.
Summer 0 EA—Erlend surrenders and the civil war ends under the agreed terms of the Last Words Treaty. Lord del Weylin refuses to surrender and withdraws from Erlend.
Autumn 1 EA—The nation of Igna is officially formed and its borders secured. Marianna da Ignasi is crowned as Our Queen of the Eastern Spires and her Left Hand selected. Lord del Weylin’s “Freedom Fighters” lead a series of attacks against the northern Igna borders in protest.
Winter 2 EA—Lord del Weylin captures the northern city of Merebrook.
Spring 3 EA—A new Ruby is selected by Our Queen for her Left Hand.
Summer 3 EA—The city of Merebrook is retaken by Igna forces. Lord del Weylin withdraws his forces to the borders of his land.
Summer 5 EA—A plague sweeps through northern Igna and the lands north of it. Lord del Weylin refuses aid.
Spring 6 EA—Our Queen attempts a raid on Lord del Weylin’s forces but finds the southernmost territories empty. Soldiers are stationed in the ghost towns.
Winter 7 EA—A new Amethyst is selected by Our Queen for her Left Hand.
Summer 10 EA—A new Opal is selected by Our Queen for her Left Hand.
Winter 10 EA—The last traitors of Erlend die.
Acknowledgments
There are not enough words to express how thankful I am for the people behind this book’s creation. My fiancé Brent suffered through the rough drafts and world building ramblings before Sal was even named Sal, and without his support and superior coffee skills, Mask of Shadows would never have been written. Thank you to my mother and grandmother who fostered within me a love of reading and baking that so often overlapped and kept me alive while writing.
My mentor and writing partners were invaluable. Jessie Devine was the best mentor a person could ask for; Kerbie Addis was a constant source of strength, knowledge, and puns; Carrie DiRisio believed in Sal’s story even when I didn’t; and my favorite dragon Kara Wolf was one of the first to read about Sal and love them.
Thank you, too, to the amazing readers who helped make this as safe and enjoyable a read as possible—I can’t thank all of you enough.
Thank you Brenda Drake for creating Pitch Wars and ultimately introducing me to the Pitch Wars 2014 group where I met so many writers and friends who made the last three years spectacular.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without my awesome agent Rachel Brooks at the L. Perkins Agency. She believed in Sal and me from the very start, and working with her has been one of the best parts of publishing.
Annie Berger, thank you so much for taking the little assassins book I wrote and turning it into a real novel. I still remember getting the call that you wanted to work on Mask of Shadows, and I’ll never forget that moment. Thank you Elizabeth Boyer, Katy Lynch, Alex Yeadon, Stefani Sloma, Heather Moore, and the whole Sourcebooks team for all of the work put into this book.
And thank you especially to Nicole Hower and the amazing art department who designed the cover. It’s more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed.
None of this would have been possible if not for the dozens and dozens of people who helped Mask of Shadows every step of the way, and I am forever grateful to all of them.