Stardock announces that development of Elemental: War of Magic is complete, and the now-gold strategy game is expected in stores on August 24. They also announce that Brad Wardell's Elemental novel will come out at that time as well, offering a story based on the game, and additional content: "In addition to the PC title hitting stores on August 24, the novel ELEMENTAL: DESTINY’S EMBERS, written by Elemental: War of Magic Executive Producer Brad Wardell, will also be available at bookstores nationwide from Random House’s Del Rey publishing division. Customers who purchase a copy of the book ELEMENTAL: DESTINY’S EMBERS will be able to download the additional, exclusive video game campaign, Elemental: Destiny’s Embers. The campaign will release in four stages, with the first component being released in September." Here's a batch of Elemental: War of Magic screenshots, and here's a bit from the gold announcement:

Elemental: War of Magic opens a world of magic and ancient lore as players begin the game as one of the few beings in the world still able to channel power from shards of magic – a series of mystical artifacts left over from a great cataclysm. You must decide how much of your power to imbue into your heroes as you build cities, explore dungeons, learn spells of ever-increasing power and negotiate with friends and foes.

The game also includes integrated modding tools that allow players to create their own fantasy maps, monsters, tiles, effects and much more. The game’s story-driven campaign, written by Random House’s writing team, was made exclusively with the built-in modding tools.