The Path in the Shadow, Book 1 of the Enchanter's Cycle

Down a path wrought with peril and betrayal, an unlikely group of heroes seeks to bring peace and balance back to a land plagued by turmoil, intrigue, and the looming shadow of the God of Death. Enter a new world; Teikoku, filled with strange and ancient magicka, creatures, and peoples far stranger. Unwittingly aided by the God of Death, Yokai, a renegade enchanter displeased by the magicka-phobia of his people, launches a rebellion and seeks to elevate himself to godhood. An even greater threat faces the land, one that seeks to use this ill-fated rebellion for its own ends. An in the midst of all this, a weary soul seeks a home denied to her, be it in Teiokoku or among the stars.