Geomancer

The war has been raging for a hundred years... and humanity is close to defeat. Santhenar is locked in conflict with the lyrinx—intelligent, winged predators from the Void who are desperate to gain their own world. And despite the development of mechanical battle clankers, and mastery of the crystals that drive them, humanity is losing. The enemy is destroying its nodes of magical power, one by one. Tiaan, a clever but naïve crystal worker in a clanker manufactory, is testing a new kind of crystal when she overhears an enchanting young man, Minis, speaking from far away. The crystal has woken her gift for geomancy, the most powerful of all the Secret Arts, and the most perilous. It is a talent that both humanity and its enemies are desperate to control. Falsely accused of sabotage by Irisis, a malicious rival, Tiaan flees for her life. But soon she is stalked by the outcast, wingless lyrinx, Ryll, who plans to use her in his dreadful flesh-forming sorcery. From afar, Minis advises and guides Tiaan and she now sees him as more than a friend. Aching for him, Tiaan follows his instructions all the way to Tirthrax, the tallest mountain in all the Three Worlds, where a nightmare awaits her...