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For a thousand years, The Old Town has stood as humanity’s last bastion against the maalkonis, malignant black mists that reduced the rest of the world to ash. They are kept at bay by rusty machines on the town’s walls. In order to survive, the dwindling population depends on one another.
Since a young age, Justīne has embraced the harsh responsibilities that accompanied her apprenticeship on the last farm in existence. Her younger sister, Anna, is beginning her own apprenticeship as well. Learning engineering was not Anna's first choice, but the town's last mage fell to the maalkonis years prior, leaving nothing behind but confusing books and strange runes.
When food runs low during a particularly harsh winter, distrust spreads like a plague, and Justīne is blamed for it. As hunger leads to violence, she and her siblings are forced to flee The Old Town, embarking on a perilous journey into the very mists that had formed their cage. Their fight to survive in the dark develops into a hopeful mystery as they follow the breadcrumbs of a mage’s efforts to save the world. Meanwhile something pursues them through the maalkonis…
Genre: Fantasy (Post-Apocalyptic)
Age Suggestion: Adult
Tropes: Slice-of-Life, Small Town Setting, Coming of Age, Courage, Animal Companion, Sibling Dynamics, Slow Build, Runic Magic, Solarpunk
Trigger / CW: Copper Skin, Oaken Lungs is intended for mature audiences and contains some content that may be off-putting to some readers including violence and death. There may also be some scenes which bother readers with nyctophobia or claustrophobia.
Spice Warning: None (kissing only)
Author: Adam Bassett
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 240
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
ISBN: 979-8-9909819-7-3
Series: Copper & Ash Book One
Adam Bassett is the author of the Digital Extremities and Copper & Ash series. He’s had other short fiction published in The Book of Spores, Rare, Nature Erupts, and select issues of Worldbuilding Magazine. He also illustrates maps for fantasy and science fiction books, and he’s the author of An Author’s Guide to Setting Design: Worldbuilding & Cartography.
For a thousand years, The Old Town has stood as humanity’s last bastion against the maalkonis, malignant black mists that reduced the rest of the world to ash. They are kept at bay by rusty machines on the town’s walls. In order to survive, the dwindling population depends on one another.
Since a young age, Justīne has embraced the harsh responsibilities that accompanied her apprenticeship on the last farm in existence. Her younger sister, Anna, is beginning her own apprenticeship as well. Learning engineering was not Anna's first choice, but the town's last mage fell to the maalkonis years prior, leaving nothing behind but confusing books and strange runes.
When food runs low during a particularly harsh winter, distrust spreads like a plague, and Justīne is blamed for it. As hunger leads to violence, she and her siblings are forced to flee The Old Town, embarking on a perilous journey into the very mists that had formed their cage. Their fight to survive in the dark develops into a hopeful mystery as they follow the breadcrumbs of a mage’s efforts to save the world. Meanwhile something pursues them through the maalkonis…
Genre: Fantasy (Post-Apocalyptic)
Age Suggestion: Adult
Tropes: Slice-of-Life, Small Town Setting, Coming of Age, Courage, Animal Companion, Sibling Dynamics, Slow Build, Runic Magic, Solarpunk
Trigger / CW: Copper Skin, Oaken Lungs is intended for mature audiences and contains some content that may be off-putting to some readers including violence and death. There may also be some scenes which bother readers with nyctophobia or claustrophobia.
Spice Warning: None (kissing only)
Author: Adam Bassett
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 240
Publication Date: February 3, 2026
ISBN: 979-8-9909819-7-3
Series: Copper & Ash Book One
Adam Bassett is the author of the Digital Extremities and Copper & Ash series. He’s had other short fiction published in The Book of Spores, Rare, Nature Erupts, and select issues of Worldbuilding Magazine. He also illustrates maps for fantasy and science fiction books, and he’s the author of An Author’s Guide to Setting Design: Worldbuilding & Cartography.
