The Fortress of Senir

An empire is coming. A king is building a fortress. Beneath Mount Hermon, an ancient warning has been mistaken for a weapon. In the ninth century BC, the armies of Shalmaneser III are driving west, and Hazael of Damascus orders Mount Senir fortified before the Assyrian war machine reaches his kingdom. Then workers beneath the unfinished stronghold uncover a sealed chamber. Inside lies a damaged tablet and a black stone connected to an oath older than any kingdom fighting over the mountain. To Dagan-iddin, a royal priest and adviser, the discovery offers something stronger than stone walls: fear. If frightened soldiers can be convinced that the mountain itself witnesses their loyalty, perhaps an oath can hold them when iron cannot. But Mikaiah ben Uri, an Israelite courier and scribe, reads something very different in the ancient record—a warning against turning truth into power. Tamar of Abel Beth Maacah, a widowed healer forced into the king's service, sees what those lies are costing ordinary men. And Rakkab, an Aramean captain sworn to defend Damascus, must decide how far obedience can go before duty becomes something darker. As Assyria closes around Senir and the mountain becomes a battlefield, three unlikely allies are caught between kings, armies, and a priest determined to control what the ancient witness means. To keep it from becoming another weapon, they must answer a question greater than the fortress itself: Can truth be preserved without being possessed? Kings build fortresses. Empires carve victories into stone. But truth belongs to God. The Fortress of Senir is Book Two of The Oath of Hermon Trilogy, a biblical historical-fiction series spanning Mount Hermon from the ancient world before the Flood to the age of Christ. Each volume tells a complete story while advancing the larger trilogy.