Influenced by a generation of gaming, Heart of Oak traces its routes to the story-telling games of the 2000s and early 2010s. If you love a story that feels like a non-stop role playing game adventure, then Heart of Oak and the overarching Oakengrove series right up your alley.

No generative artificial intelligence (GenAi) was used in the writing of this work.

This is Emil Bronze's first big release and he intends to make this worth the wait, worth the support, and most of all, worth every moment spent reading it.

Heart of Oak, along with the larger Saliorah world, is a queer-normative world. Experience a world loaded to the brim with diverse characters, not just white humans, but wood elves, orcs, goblins, minotaurs, avians, racoon-folk, and a great many more. Characters with disabilities are present and are appropriately shown with the intent to bring awareness to them and how magic isn't a cure-all solution.

 

In a world tens of thousands of years old, one would ask the question, who is superior? Man or God?

The scars of the Age of Monsters still linger. However, it is not the hells that spark fear, panic, and ultimately, territorial aggression, but rather the return of a long-dead tree god. Made with the flesh of oak trees, this Dair reawakens with no memories of his past life beyond the names of his valiant and loyal companions. His only mission is to rediscover himself and learn of his past life. Rarely does one's peace remain undisturbed, however.

Recruited by the Druid of Florism to investigate his return, a group of sell-swords must toe the line between friend and foe for not just the tree-god, but also for the town and country they swore to protect. 

What can one person do when the dogs of war begin to bark at the gates? 

Note: Heart of Oak is currently in the 2nd revision/rewrite stage. This means that once Emil has finished rewrites, the book will be sent out for beta-reads. Once feedback has returned by the end of September, Emil will be going through the notes provided, doing fixes and rewrites as needed, then the book will be shipped off to an editor in November with a current estimate return time of February

Part of the Book Bazaar's 2026 Autumnal Launch