Kern (Eleven realms)
1. Bonds of Magic
In Kern, one of the Eleven Realms to the east of the Wall raised to keep out the magical beings, nobles and mages keep their positions at the top of society by enslaving the voluntas, individuals with inhuman speed and innate magical powers. At the age of seven, Gabrielle Furst is hauled off to the capitol to be magically bonded and enslaved to Adeline Merhi, daughter of the one of the most powerful men in Kern. Gabrielle befriends a servant’s boy named Khalil but soon enough, is packed off to the School where traumatic events force her to come to terms with what it means to have her very will subjugated to another. She realizes she needs to use her considerable powers to find a way to end the system of enslavement keeping the nobility in power. Khalil and his father have joined a collection of rebels determined to overthrow the government after the murder of his mother. Meanwhile, Adeline wants nothing more than to be free of the expectations and duties that come with her rank but like Gabrielle, finds it will be hard to escape the life fate tossed her. 2. Chains of Gold
After ten years of training and developing the powers and abilities that make Gabrielle Furst and her fellow voluntas such desirable slaves, she is finally recalled to serve Adeline Merhi, the daughter of one of the most powerful nobleman in Kern. Even as Adeline struggles internally with the morality of enslaving another person’s will, Gabrielle searches for a way to use her impressive magical powers to undo the spells binding her. Meanwhile, Khalil and fellow rebel Amanda learn of Lord Merhi's plans to provoke war with neighboring Sovrack in order to consolidate his own power. They come up with a scheme to kidnap Adeline in order to blackmail her father. The plan goes awry and Amanda goes missing but in the process, Gabrielle and Khalil recognize each other and decide to work together. At the same time, the hostility between Gabrielle and her master slowly dissolves into friendship as circumstances force them to learn to understand and respect each other. Still, it remains to be seen whether they can save the nation from Lord Merhi's hunger for power. 3. Matters of Principle
It’s been weeks since Gabrielle, Amanda, Khalil and Adeline discovered her father, Lord Merhi's ruthless plan to provoke neighboring Sovrack to invade Kern just so he might be handed the kingship. When the invasion turns out to be more spirited than Adeline’s father expected, he is forced to lead an army to the border to repel it. By the time the war is over and the Sovrack are finally repelled, it is obvious that the only way the nobles can be overthrown is to first undo the spells that hold Gabrielle and her fellow voluntas in enslavement to them. But undoing the age-old spell will not be easy. The complexity of the spell is unlike anything Gabrielle has ever had to work with and the magical energy needed to fuel it is far more than any single person can possess. |
Under the Vault of Heaven
Floating Isles
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