The Afflicted Saga: Legend of the Risen Series

A boy's dreams. His sister's promise. Destiny greater than either had imagined.   Born into humble obscurity, there was nothing Mathias Sagewind longed for more than to become the greatest knight Abaeloth had ever seen. When the chance comes for him to travel to Zeal—the very beacon of honor and justice—he vows to make the best of the opportunity and chase that dream by apprenticing under one of the holy city's out-of-work demon hunters.   But not all dreams are blissful and even the bravest of hearts can be shaken.   Demons have surfaced on Abaeloth after decades withdrawn in the hells. Lacking in his faith and with childhood notions of glory and adventure bursting to life in the most unexpected way, Mathias must rally his courage and strength to protect the mortal realm from the conquest of these wicked abominations.   Plummeted into brutal chaos, there is one thing Mathias Sagewind will do at any cost—and that is to become the greatest demon hunter Zeal has ever seen. With all the land relying on the rare talents of his sworn order, he must stand as a defiant bastion between demons and mortals, the cursed and divine, life and death. 

A priestess in peril. A mercenary's plight. Both fates bound by a single thread.   With the demon threat quelled, Abaeloth has slipped into an era of peace and recovery. Heroes were memorialized, communities rebuilt, and fears forgotten. Julianna was granted the gift of becoming Etha's High Priestess. For the first time in creation, the future looked bright.   But Abaeloth was built to crave order and mortals are ever-adept at skewing Etha's plans.   Hordes of mindless corpses are rising from their graves, terrorizing the living. A dysfunctional Council has locked Zeal's military response to these startling reports, leaving a mysterious mercenary and her ragtag band of recruits to manage this crisis. And none of Julianna's prayers have been answered by her goddess.   For three centuries, Gelthin had known contentment, but in a new age of unprecedented peril, a hero has never been more needed. And there is only one which priestess, mercenary, and goddess alike can think of. Mathias Sagewind. Long-dead and having earned his rest, such longings are ridiculous at best, blasphemous at worst. But with blasphemy already thriving, disrupting Abaeloth's order may be the only way to restore it.