Brisingr Cycle

A hundred years ago, the Dragon Rider Zelophehad led the slaughter of Dragon Riders who did not side with him, in the wake of his taking of Niflheim. In the brutal massacre, dragons were also murdered, the entire species being wiped out. Only Zelophehad and the Forsworn remained—those Riders who had pledged themselves to the Black Rider. Under his rule, Niflheim set out to conquer the rest of the known world. These days, the Niflheim Empire reigns supreme. Dragon Riders outside of the Forsworn are deemed enemies of the crown—not that there are any dragons around to continue the sacred pact.

But Jormungandr is at a turning point. The land’s aether is becoming unbalanced, due to technological tampering… and the laws of nature unraveling, though no one knows why. The Riders were investigating this through studying Elder One ruins—the ruins of a people who lived before mortals, with power said to rival the gods, but mysteriously vanished from the planet. The world is slowly falling apart, all  life threatening to go extinct, but all Zelophehad cares about is maintaining control. And the key to it all may lie in Elder Blood… and the word in the Elder Tongue, brisingr.