Part 1 of the "Dande and the Drum of Thunder" series • Part 2: "Rise of the Rain Queen" now available

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In the sun-baked Mwene Mutapa Empire of 1447—a powerful Southeast African kingdom now crumbling under a relentless drought—Dande, a haunted warrior, seeks redemption amidst parched savannahs littered with bones. Branded by his father's treason, he yearns to restore the sacred ngomalungundu drum, a mystical relic believed to summon rain, to end the famine and earn a place among the Barwe Tonga, the empire's elite royal guards. His heart, however, beats for Zugudini, a fierce runaway who carries their childhood love in a golden butterfly amulet. Their rekindled passion flares through perilous escapes across stone-walled cities and tangled forests, but Hondo, Dande's cunning mentor, hungers for the throne. Hondo schemes to sacrifice Zugudini in a bloody ritual to seize the drum's ancient prophecy, sparking rebellions marked by black feathers of defiance. As a comet's glow fades in the sky, Dande and Zugudini's love must withstand betrayal and sword-clashing battles to protect the drum and save their people. With time running out, their bond becomes their greatest weapon in a heart-racing fight to defy Hondo's treachery—or lose their empire and each other to a storm of blood and fire.