Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal is the first novel in Candace Lynn Talmadge's dark high fantasy series, set in the rigidly stratified island nation of Azgard, where race and class dictate status and the Temple of Kronos enforces the dominance of the ruling Toltec overclass. Lieutenant Helen Andros, a mixed-race military physician of illegitimate birth, is summoned to save the life of Prince Harnak using a mysterious green gem inherited from her mother. The successful healing incites the wrath of the overclass, and when Helen's true parentage as the daughter of Lord Protector James Mordecai is revealed, she is thrust into a dangerous game of political intrigue, forbidden attraction, and demonic peril. Stalked by the ancient, malevolent Stoneslayer, who covets the green gem's power, Helen must navigate a treacherous court, an impending political marriage, and her volatile relationship with a father she neither knows nor trusts. The novel blends political drama, spiritual awakening, and reincarnation into the opening chapter of a three-book saga.