The Masked Empire

Empress Celene of Orlais rose to the throne of the most powerful nation in Thedas through wisdom, wit, and ruthless manipulation.

Now the empire she has guided into an age of enlightenment is threatened from within by imminent war between the templars and the mages, even as rebellion stirs among the downtrodden elves. To save Orlais, Celene must keep her hold on the throne by any means necessary. At her heels are Grand Duke Gaspard, an Orlesian chevalier who believes the kingdom deserves a new, stronger leader; and Briala, Celene's handmaid, spymaster, and lover, who wants nothing more than to fight for her people--the elves. Alliances are forged and promises broken as Celene and Gaspard battle for the throne. In the end, however, the elves, hidden and starving, may decide the fate of the masked empire themselves.

This deluxe edition features twenty-four brand new illustrations by Stefano Martino, Álvaro Sarraseca, Andres Ponce, and German Ponce in an intricately designed, foil stamped hardcover!

Patrick Weekes was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Stanford University, where he received a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature.

In 2005, Patrick joined BioWare's writing team in Alberta, Canada. Since then, he's worked on all three games in the Mass Effect trilogy, where he helped write characters like Mordin, Tali, and Samantha Traynor. He is now working with the Dragon Age team on the third game in the critically acclaimed series, and he has written tie-in fiction for both series, including Tali's issue in the Dark Horse "Mass Effect: Homeworlds" series and Dragon Age: Masked Empire, an upcoming novel to be released in July 2014.

Patrick lives in Edmonton with his wife Karin, his two Lego-and-video-game-obsessed sons, and (currently) nine rescued animals. In his spare time, he takes on unrealistic Lego-building projects, practices Kenpo Karate, and embarrasses himself in video games.