Dawn of the Firebird

The raven, crane, and firebird each chose a tribe of man, granting humans heavenly magic. But power in man’s hand caused endless wars for land. With mankind’s destruction, the birds perished taking with them their magic. Magic is now rare, war common. The discarded daughter of an emperor, Khamilla Zahr-zad is raised with her mother’s nomadic tribe until a violent raid ends that peaceful life. Amid the chaos of death, the heavenly magic of nur awakens within her, granting her the power to wield a cosmic light. Khamilla suddenly goes from outsider to weapon, finally accepted into her father’s court. Now worthy, she trains in combat and poisons, pledging loyalty to his throne. But tragedy strikes again and when her clansmen are defeated by a rival empire, Khamilla vows lasting vengeance as she escapes. However Khamilla is not alone – for something shadows her, feeding her darkness…Hiding her identity, Khamilla infiltrates the enemy’s army academy. She studies jinn, magic, and martial arts from cutthroat mystic monks in a bid to bring down an empire from within. However, through her studies Khamilla begins to question her father’s teachings of war and rule. With war escalating across kingdoms and a twisted magic spreading, Khamilla is torn between two impossible choices: revenge or freedom. With gorgeous prose and a captivating magic system, layered with morally grey characters, Dawn of the Firebird embraces rich Islamic culture and raises provocative questions about individual power, choice, and the cost of war.

SARAH MUGHAL RANA is a Muslim author who graduated from the University of Toronto and is now pursuing her MPhil in Asian studies at Oxford. She works at the intersection of Human Rights and Asian Policy. She is a BookTok personality and the cohost of On the Write Track podcast. Outside of school, she falls down history rabbit holes and trains in traditional martial arts.