The Aetherhollow Archive is a steampunk romance soaked in a gallon of magic. It is set in Summersmead, the fictional empire from the book you are sucked into.
Four hundred years after the Chosen One failed to save their world, you find yourself in the shoes of the presumed, and freshly murdered, villain of the story - ostentatiously called Sovereign. You embark on a journey to unfold the mysteries of this new world and find a way home.
But with your killer lurking in the shadows, who can you trust?
Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery.
Warnings: This story will be rated 18+ for depictions of death, violence, strong language, sexual themes, alcohol consumption, blood, etc.
DEMO - Chapter 1, 23 October 2023
Fully customizable MC.
Uncover Sovereign’s murderer.
Help the Chief of Police save the citizens from a mysterious drug.
Deal with the air pirates and their insufferable leader!
Fight an automaton army!
While you might be going slightly mad, too.
Fix (or destroy) the world. No pressure.
Six romance options (1 NB male, 2F and 3M - one straight).
Romance Options
Elian “Eli” Cabello - the Hero [NB, he/they] ???
The new dashing hero of the story. As the younger sibling of the late Chosen One, Eli has the best motive to have killed Sovereign. Leader of the rebellion and with a knack of putting themselves in danger, will they come to finish the job?
Face claim: Miguel Angel Silvestre
Keyon Dalgliesh - the Advisor [M] ???
Sovereign’s trusted advisor and confidant. Keyon is an all-knowing (if not all-wise) polymath, well-versed in history, science and several languages. He can come off as a bit of a snob, but he might just be the only person who had Sovereign’s back. But will he consider you an impostor?
Face claim: Tom Hiddlestione’s Loki
Rae Fairburne - the Mercenary [F] 25
The scruffy mercenary Sovereign signed a contract with right before dying. Cold-hearted and opportunist, Rae is top on the list of enemies, but she does not seem to care much for neither the politics nor the city. Could she have a better offer for your head?
Face claim: Cara Gee’s Camina Drummer
Blythe Haywarde - the Inventor [F] 27
The brilliant Inventor Sovereign was sponsoring. She spends most of her time in the workshop tower, tinkering and creating all sorts of devices, and obsessively cleaning her tools. As gentle a soul as you can find, Blythe seems to care more about the strays she saves than the world outside. Could a killer hide underneath the doe-like eyes?
Face claim: Anna Diop
Thane Winthrope - the Guard [M, straight] 34
The new head of the Guard. Stoic and built like a brick wall, Thane is a man of few words. He has recently been promoted following the death of many palace soldiers. You feel his eyes follow you everywhere, but that’s just his duty as your newly appointed bodyguard. Right?
Face claim: Sebastian Stan
Alder - Pirate king [M] 38
Flirty and boisterous, the king of the air pirates seems like a ray of sunshine on a first glance. You really don’t want to get on his bad side, the man is positively unhinged.
Face claim: Tom Hardy
Other notable characters:
Angelica Cabello - The Chosen One [F] deceased
Eli’s sister and former Chosen One. She had been sent on a journey to save their dying planet by an ancient prophecy. Angelica was betrayed and murdered at the end of the expedition by one of her companions who named themself Sovereign and took the promised power.
Face claim: Frankie Adams
Carling Powlett - Chief of police [F] 50
Madam Powlett is the long standing chief of Summersmead Police Department. She cares less for the nobility, but keeps an extra eye out for the less fortunate. She never hid her distaste for Sovereign.
Face claim: Shohreh Aghdashloo
Gytha - The Maid [F] 2
The clockwork maid Sovereign commissioned some two years prior. She’s soft spoken and delicate for an automaton, with an amazingly realistic porcelain face. She also makes incredible good tea.
I was planning on making a board for my MC, but I guess, they still feel like blank slate to me. Sovereign is much more interesting for now. Sorry, MC 🤣
Can Keyon be killed only by a stake through the heart and decapitation?
Hmm I think there would be quite a few more ways to do it… burned alive… suffocated… blood loss from any kind of injury… though it would take quite an excruciating long while for all…
bullet to the head could do the trick quickly 😅
I hope I’m not contradicting myself with any past asks, but vampires in game are more like the Wayhaven ones than the classic undead. They, and by extension Keyon as well, are basically blood sucking overpowered humans, the sun doesn’t burn them to a crisp, but they are also not crazy invincible.
He gets a lot of his powers from the aether as well. So he’d get quite a boost to his rapid healing and paired with vampire strength and reflexes, he would have quite an edge in battle 🤔
Could Sovereign have a biological child? And if so, would the child inherit any... powers?
Yes, they could have children, they are by all means a normal human with access to a vast amount of power.
But no, the child would inherit nothing. The powers are purely linked to how much aether a person gathered, but it’s not transmissible, unless actively given. Everyone is born with exactly one aether, o matter how much the parents have.
"it’s safe to say none will assume an alternative version of themselves took their place"
Ok, but what if I *tell* them an alternative version of themselves took their place? I doubt they'll immediately believe it, but would any of them consider that a possibility if it's expressed?
yeah, they would entertain the idea.
after all, no one knew the whole extent of Sovereign’s power, so maybe this was just something they were always capable of doing 🤭
What will the nobles think if they notice Sovereign behaving differently?
there will be some flavor text about it, but nothing too drastic.
most of them will attribute it to Sovereign’s long life and some odd effect of too much aether. some will definitely link it to the death rumors, but it’s safe to say none will assume an alternative version of themselves took their place 😅
Does MC have to be the one who makes the first step to romance with Keyon?
no. at least I don’t think so 😂
most romance actions will probably have an option to be initiated by either party. a kiss or be kissed option for instance 🤔 but MC will have to choose him to get some romance points going on. For example choose to dance with him next chapter, or choose to go with him when the party splits - even if these choices are not necessary romantic, you dance because it’s expected of you, you pick to go with someone based on the location they are headed to, etc. if there are no interactions at all in the beginning the romance will not be triggered later on😅
this is applicable for all the ROs, with Blythe being the only one that will be more reserved in the beginning.
I doubt that in their world they learned politics, diplomacy and all things useful for the ruler xD
yes
ish 😂 depends on everyone’s view of “good”.
There will be morally good options, but they won’t always have the better outcomes 😜 the key to being the best monarch for the people will generally be agreeing with Keyon, sometimes it will mean opening hospitals and taking care of orphans… other times it will be blowing up a few dirigible, casualties be damned.
What would happen if, at the ball, MC happily announced they abdicate and chose Keyon new sovereign?
getting into spoiler territory a bit, but he would be “removed” from power and replace within the following working day.
the only reason the same thing hadn’t happened sooner to Sovereign was their power. Everyone thought Sovereign unkillable, as they truly were… until well, the assassination. There are people that were and still are planning to overthrow the current regime.
Now, would Keyon want to be ruler? That’s a different matter entirely 😅
I think the new regime would accept to keep him as advisor, though he’d obviously refuse since they murdered his Sovereign…
Who decided that Angelica was the chosen one or how it revealed?
is this spoiler? I can never tell cause I’m one of those ppl that don’t mind them. i read the endings of books to know if they’re worth my time 🤣
you’ll get the smallest mention of this in the next chapter from Sovereign’s diary - basically pre-power Sovereign more or less pushed her into it 😅
but it was a combination of the Church approving of her, that you’ll get more info on in the 3rd part of the story, and Sovereign being sure Angelica had to be The One.
What will MC be able to do with Sovereign's murderer? When they catch them.
As of now, I have 2 people noted down that MC will 100% have different flavor text options for kill, imprison/ punish or forgive (evil - neutral - good), each with different outcomes. One of them is the killer 😊
