WIP RE-INTRO: THE TRAITOR’S HEIR
GENRE: High Fantasy
AGE: New Adult
TROPES: Forbidden Magic, Betrayal, Curses, Love at First Sight, Disapproved-of Love
THEMES: Perception vs. Reality, family relationships, the passage of time, what we owe to our ancestors, the prince of power
STATUS: Drafting
PLOT: Circi has been split in two since the Bellum Civilae 25 years before, the South ruled by a tyrannical emperor, and the once-prosperous North split into warring factions. They share one thing in common, however: anyone caught using magic is sentenced to death.
A witch stuck at the Southern emperor’s court, Novellia gets a reprieve from this fate when she comes across a cunning, mysterious Northern noble in the heart of enemy territory. But this presents a new problem: how can she stop herself from falling in love with a woman who could kill her if she learned the truth? And what’s the explanation behind the reason Livia came South in the first place: a plague that’s overtaken the North, dead bodies rising from their graves, and those who recover from the disease coming back….strange.
CHARACTERS
novellia de rege: born with magic, and lived secluded in a forest villa for most of her life before her brother’s betrayal brought her to the emperor’s court. a girl who will fight the odds to the last second, and intends to enjoy as much of her life as she can even if it’s risky. some call it bravery, some call it reckless.
livia corvi: niece of the puppet-emperor of the North, and from a family of fervent magic-hunters. chosen by the senate for a suicide mission to the South to hunt down the cause of the recent plague. mercurial, ruthless, and would do anything to advance her standing—and to break the dark curse she’s under: turning to a dragon at every moonlight.
adrasteia falco: Ephian who fled her country after her father and siblings were murdered by Southern troops. Loyal and first to draw her sword, her desire to avenge them drives everything she does
enrico accursio: the Northern emperor: Livia’s uncle by marriage and a notorious villain even to the Northern people, who blame him for the war. nearly powerless at his own court, which is under the control of rival factions of old aristocratic families.
giacomo gallo: the Southern emperor’s second in command, and boots on the ground, emblematic far and wide of the evils of magic. one of the few sorcerers who can live openly in Circi, but only by working for the king. as the highest ranking figure of Southern tyranny most people come across, he’s even more feared than the emperor.
SETTINGS:
Circi: empire founded by a refugee from the Calixian War, 1000 years before. For the preceding centuries, they were the hegemon of the continent, until they were broken and weakened from the war. Both sides have the same monarchical system: rulers aren’t born, they’re selected by the current emperor or empress and trained to rule.
Ephiae: small kingdom to the North: known for training selfless warriors who are regarded as the terror of the continent if you meet them in battle. ruled by two kings, one of whom takes the mantle of Shadow King: secluded from public life, and accepting a host of magical powers in return, the most notable of which is mastery over shadows. Their culture reveres sorcery, and they’ve been at war with South Circi for years before the start of the story.
Vinoseta: island under imperial control, ruled by the Archoracle and a small college of priestesses. mostly notable for their exports of luxury goods and the hardship in getting there: there’s no path that doesn’t lead to a shipwreck. Nevertheless, rulers continue attempting it as a way of controlling the oracle’s prophecy, an important part of Circian religion
Volcia: large, unexplored area north of the continent. no one centralized government, but the area closest to and most familiar to the world of the novel is ruled by the Dreamwitches, known for their mastery over the sleeping world. unlike the other nations, it’s often cold and rainy, even earning the moniker “where the sun never rises”
Aurealix: a continent across the sea from the known world, known for being populated by species such as Cyclopes, Hecatoncheries, Titans, Ogres, Harpies, and Satyrs. Often doesn’t get involved in the wars happening on the other side of the sea.
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