Blood on the Pine

In the frozen heartlands of the 8th century, the forest is a sanctuary, and the silence is a religion. Timo is a creature of the deep winter—a massive, silent trapper who worships the ancient spirits of the hunt and the sacred claw marks carved into the great pines. But when a foreign fire appears on the southern horizon, bringing iron axes and a fanatical priest who preaches a single god, Timo's world begins to fracture.His blood-brother, Eero, advocates for trade and surrender. Timo advocates for blood.When Timo's brutal defiance brands him an outlaw, he drags the captured Priest deep into the uncharted, snow-choked wilderness to interrogate him. But the Priest does not fear the dark. He tells Timo the silence of the forest is not a blessing—it is a door. And Timo has just unlocked it.Driven to the depths of the earth, Timo will find an ancient stone that predates the gods, a darkness that devours men's minds, and a truth that will shatter everything he has ever believed. To save his brother, he must sacrifice his body. To save his world, he must break his faith.A visceral, breathtaking saga of blood, snow, and brotherhood, The Claw Marks is a brutal historical epic about the monsters men pray to, and the monsters they become when the prayers go unanswered.