A Dawn of Onyx

A Dawn of Onyx is the first installment in The Sacred Stones trilogy and follows the journey of Arwen, a kind-hearted healer who eventually discovers that she is one of the last full-blooded Fae in existence. The first novel in the series bears the responsibility of establishing the key aspects of Golden’s world-building, and to this end, Arwen’s first-person perspective organically introduces points of geography, as well as the political, cultural, and magical undercurrents that drive the dynamics of these intertwined kingdoms. The war-torn continent consists of the Kingdom of Amber, Onyx Kingdom, the Peridot Provinces, the Opal Territories, Quartz of Rose, the Kingdom of Amber, Garnet Kingdom, and the Pearl Mountains. Amber is known for its harvests, while Garnet Kingdom is rich with coin and jewels, and the Pearl Mountains boast ancient scrolls and world-renowned scholars. The Opal Territories are known for their distilleries and untouched land, and the Peridot Providences contain coves with hidden treasures.

As Arwen learns more about the social and political nuances that dominate her world, her own biases and misconceptions have a powerful effect on the rhythm of the story. For example, at the beginning of the novel, it is not clear how the war between the Kingdom of Amber and the Onyx Kingdom first began. Even so, citizens of Amber view their king, Gareth, as a moral and just ruler, and they believe that the whole of Onyx Kingdom is greedy, bloodthirsty, and immoral. However, as Arwen learns more about each side of the war, these misconceptions are corrected one by one.

The novel also introduces important characters, such as Princess Amelia and King Eryx of the Peridot Provinces, who will go on to play more important roles in the second installment when they become allies of Onyx Kingdom. The enemies of Onyx in the war are King Gareth of the Kingdom of Amber; far from being the just ruler that his subjects believe him to be, he is a power-hungry man who has made a deal with the Fae King Lazarus. Lazarus has agreed to provide Gareth and his dignitaries with “untold power” and “lighte” (rare Fae magic) in exchange for providing Lazarus’s Fae citizens with a new homeland. Lazarus, who is later revealed to be Kane’s biological father, also seeks to find and execute all Fae who defected from his kingdom. These antagonistic forces are introduced in A Dawn of Onyx, but the full-brunt of these enemies will only be faced in the second and third installments.