Description
[ A dark fantasy/romance novella ] Michelle d'Eliore is from Trievenna, a country where men live for centuries and their ritual mending magic has foraged impossible towers on the shores of their rivers. But even their unique powers can't save them from an impending army and the plague they've brought from inland. Michelle finds himself on the run, his home destroyed and his colleagues sold into servitude. Disguised as a mortal man, he makes it to wintry Oukyeos before he's incapacitated by the plague he thought he'd outrun. When he wakes, he finds himself in the care of a nearby fort, recognized as a magician by the telltale color of his hair. Faced with its commander, Akoúda Genova, Michelle refuses to be another political pawn in the war that has already stolen his way of life--but the oncoming winter means no one can leave any time soon, and his unsteady peace with Akoúda will have to rely on his hiding the bloody circumstances of his past. [ first draft started 9/12/20; completed 9/27/20 ]
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