Everything your store needs for The First Stone and its author, Robert Biehn. Ordering, events, art and more, all in one place.
The First Stone
Creator kit
Tap the emblem on your Mission Card so the page matches your box.
The two posts
A reminder, not a re-pitch
You already said yes to this by email. Putting it here so it is in one place while you have the box open.
No deadline from me. The posts land when the box lands.
Claim your spot
Tell me who you are
Four fields and you get a link that credits everything back to you.
This is how you get your link, the lore drops, and your giveaway application. Nothing else is sent to you.
Unlocks when you claim your spot
Your link
One link, both credited to you
It opens the faction quiz, which is what your audience wants first. The book link inside carries your tag through, so a quiz taken and a book bought on that trail both come back to you.
Use this one if you are talking about the quiz somewhere that is not yours.
Unlocks when you claim your spot
Giveaway
Run a giveaway to your own audience
You host it. I supply the prize and the mechanics, so you are not building anything. This is an application, not a signup. I read every one myself and I do not approve them all.
Unlocks when you claim your spot
Two switches
What you want from me
What do you need?
Mistborn meets Avatar: The Last Airbender
Edited by Michael Braff of Red Rising
The First Stone
Robert Biehn
- Book 1 of The Exousia Chronicles
- Dual POV, brother and sister
- Distributed by Macmillan
Cass's little sister is going to die.He'll burn the world down to save her.
Order details
- Returns
- Fully returnable
- Discount
- Around 50 percent, set by Macmillan
- Order through
- Your Macmillan rep or Ingram. No Macmillan rep? Email Storyteller Media.
- Edition
- Deluxe Limited Edition hardcover, $27.99
- On sale
- January 5, 2027. Order about 30 days ahead.
- For readers
- YA, ages 13 and up, with strong adult crossover. No spice, no profanity.
- ISBN
- 9781969905117
What it's about
My little sister is going to die.I’ll burn the world down to save her.
I didn’t choose to be an Ignarus Myth, a human born with power over fire. Doesn’t matter, though. I’m only seen as a threat. It wasn’t always like that for my kind. Centuries ago, Myths were symbols of awe. I was born a few hundred years too late. By the time I arrived, that awe had long turned to horror. The first Nightmares had appeared and nearly wiped out the world. Then everyone learned what they really were. Mutated Myths.
Civilization collapsed. From the ashes rose the Prism Spire.
Its leader, a brilliant inventor and geneticist known as the Arbiter, built one hundred compounds, fortified with colossal walls, to shelter the survivors. The man who saved humanity became my greatest enemy. He decreed that every Myth, except for a few Exempt he deemed essential, must take the Pax Serum, erasing their powers and the Nightmare gene forever. Those of us who refuse are hunted by augmented human soldiers called Grafters.
Evelon and I live beyond those walls, hiding. Unlike other Myths, we hide not because of what I am, but because the Arbiter has declared my powerless little sister the most wanted person alive. We don’t even know why. Neither of us remembers anything past two years ago. So we search for answers while we struggle to survive.
Our life was manageable, even pleasant at times, just her and me in the wild. Then she started coughing blood. The only cure lies inside the REZ, a volatile neutral zone where civilians and Myths coexist under a fragile, fake peace.
Desperate to save her, I made one stupid mistake, and it drew the attention of Felix, a high-ranking Grafter who preys on the vulnerable.
Forced into a fight for our lives, I face a fate far worse than death.
The Pax Serum.
I’m the most wanted girl in the world.I can’t remember why.
Two years ago, at thirteen, I woke up with a wolf between me and the only way out. A young man I’d never seen stepped between the snarling beast and me. Fire poured out from his palms. I didn’t know his name. I didn’t even know mine. But we had the same mark branded into the backs of our hands. Somehow, I knew the man burning with light was my older brother, Cass.
We live outside the compound walls, where everyone else hides from the Nightmares. Any Myth, a human who controls one of the elements, can mutate into one of these colossal monsters. Cass is an Ignarus, a Myth who bends fire. They’d drain his blood for Grafter scales if they ever caught him. But they’re not hunting him. They’re hunting me. I am the reason he bleeds.
I can track, climb, and put a stone through a rat in the dark. But when I got sick, coughing blood in the heat with no medicine for miles, it was Cass who carried me to the REZ. It’s the closest thing to neutral ground left in the world, and the only place I can get the cure I need.
One mistake was all it took to draw the eye of Felix, a high-ranking Grafter who preys on Myths for sport. Like all Grafters, he serves the Arbiter, the man who rules the world and wants me caged. I’d rather die next to my brother than live a single day without him. But the Arbiter doesn’t want us dead. That would be a gift.
As Cass burns the world to ash to save me, Felix pulls out a weapon far worse than any blade, the one thing that can take my brother from me and leave him still breathing.
The Pax Serum.
Cass's little sister is going to die. He'll burn the world down to save her.
While the rest of humanity hides behind colossal walls, they run from the Prism Spire, not because Cass is an Ignarus Myth with power over fire, but because for unknown reasons, the Arbiter declared his ill little sister Evelon the most wanted person alive. The only cure for her illness lies in a neutral zone called the REZ, where one mistake draws the attention of a metal-augmented human, known as a Grafter, who lives for the hunt.
Full description
Cass's little sister is going to die. He'll burn the world down to save her.
As an Ignarus Myth, a human born with power over fire, Cass is seen as a threat to humanity. Centuries ago, Myths were symbols of awe. That awe turned to horror when the first Nightmares appeared, mutated Myths that nearly wiped out the world.
Civilization collapsed. From the ashes rose the Prism Spire.
Led by the brilliant inventor and geneticist known as the Arbiter, one hundred compounds, fortified with colossal walls, were built to shelter what remained of humanity. Then came his decree: All Myths, save for a few Exempt essential to survival, must take the Pax Serum, erasing their powers and the Nightmare gene. Those who refuse are hunted by his augmented soldiers, Grafters.
Cass and his little sister Evelon live beyond those walls, hiding. Not because Cass is a Myth, but because the Arbiter has declared Evelon the most wanted person in the Prism Spire. With no memories beyond two years ago, they search for answers while struggling to survive.
When Evelon falls deathly ill, the only cure lies inside the REZ, a volatile neutral zone where civilians and Myths coexist under fragile peace.
A single mistake draws the attention of Felix, a high-ranking Grafter who lives for the hunt.
Forced into a fight for their lives, Cass faces a fate worse than death when Felix reveals his hidden weapon.
The Pax Serum.
Who to hand it to
Readers who loved
Sell sheet
Reading copy
The digital galley is on Edelweiss+. Want a physical copy? Ask below.
Tell me where the review would go and which format suits you, and I will get back to you either way. No obligation to post, and no obligation to be kind.
Book facts
- Author
- Robert Biehn
- Editor
- Michael Braff (Red Rising)
- Publisher
- Storyteller Media, distributed by Macmillan
- Published
- January 5, 2027
- Edition
- Deluxe Limited Edition hardcover, $27.99
- ISBN
- 9781969905117
- Length
- 435 pages, about 135,000 words
- Category
- YA Dystopian Fantasy, ages 13 and up
Rights
Storyteller Media holds worldwide print, ebook and audiobook rights. Film, television, streaming, games, merchandise, stage and translation are not sold. Any licence for those needs my approval and a separate agreement with the publisher.
Rights come to me directly: robert@exousia.world, call or text 760-223-1613.
Reader card program
My readers carry a card that gives them 10 percent off their next purchase at a participating bookshop, plus a surprise while supplies last. It sends them back to you. Want your store on the list?
About the author
I (Robert Biehn) wrote my first "book" at ten years old. Crayon scribbles, misspelled words, not a single cliffhanger (*shakes head*). But, I remember what it felt like to take something that didn't make sense in life, process it through a story, and watch someone else feel something because I wrote it down. That moment sparked my calling: Connection through creation. Now my wife and I are releasing our debut dystopian fantasy The First Stone. No spice, no profanity, and with a strong community and an immersive world around the book.
Long bio
Robert Biehn wrote his first "book" at ten years old. Crayon scribbles, misspelled words, not a single cliffhanger. But he remembers what it felt like to take something that didn't make sense in his life, process it through a story, and watch someone else feel something because he wrote it down. That moment sparked his calling. Connection through creation.
With his wife's encouragement, he took the leap of faith and became a full-time author. The First Stone is his debut novel and the flagship of Exousia, an immersive storyverse for readers who crave more, including music, short stories, in-world articles, a weekly live stream, and a newsletter.
Underneath all of it, Robert believes stories can shape the soul, and that the story of Jesus is the greatest one ever told. With that love and care in mind, he focuses not on preaching but on giving readers something they didn't know they were starving for: a story that's not just pages for purchase, but a world they get to be part of. In Exousia, readers pick a faction, have a voice in the world, and connect with other fans in a universe that keeps expanding.
Cover, author photo and art
Links and spellings
- The book
- exousia.world/book
- Spellings
- ExousiaIgnarus MythPax SerumCassEvelonGrafter CorpsThe EyrieBellevar AcademyDark Star
- A magic system where every power has a real, visible cost
- Building one world with my wife for eight years (she learned to paint for it)
- A brother protecting his sister. I grew up the middle boy, usually with two or three sisters around me, and felt responsible for protecting them. That is written into Cass and Evelon.
- Clean but not soft: no profanity, no spice, no gratuitous gore
- Zero AI in the art or the writing
- Writing songs from the book and performing them live
- Why my events are book performances, not book signings
- Your two kids are named after characters in the book. How did that happen?
- Every power in Exousia costs something. Where did that rule come from?
- Cass would burn the world down for his sister. How much of Cass is you?
- Steph learned to paint for this world. What does building one world as a married couple look like?
- Why write epic fantasy with no profanity, no spice and no gratuitous gore?
- You wrote songs for the book. Will you play one for us?
- What happens at one of your book performances that doesn't happen at a normal signing?
- Which faction would you be in, and which one do you think our listeners would land in?
- Remote is easiest. I can join on whatever you record with.
- Steph can come on with me, or I can come solo.
- We each wear a wireless mic into one audio feed, on two Logitech StreamCams at 1080p.
- Need something different? Call or text 760-223-1613.
I wrote The First Stone and I narrate the audiobook, so I don't do readings. I perform the book, play original music, and turn your store into a room full of factions. No fee, and everything I promote sends people to your register.
The night, start to finish
About 40 minutes of program, then a rolling signing. It fits a standard 45 to 60 minute slot.
What I need from you
What I bring
You handle the store. I handle the people and the show.
Where I'm signing next
I am easy to have on. Ask what you want, including the hard version of the question.
Request a date
This is a request, not a booking. I answer within a day or two. Prefer to talk? Call or text 760-223-1613.
Talk to me directly
This reaches me and nobody else.
Prefer email or a call?
Publisher contact for orders only: teamlead@storyteller.media
Thanks for reading. Robert
