Far in the future, to avoid Entropy and Heat-Death, Humanity has uploaded themselves onto the fabric of space-time itself; “beneath” the quantum field. Effectively gods, so ancient that many of them have lived more in millenia than the universe in modern times have existed in seconds, creating matter and energy through manipulating the quantum layer.
There is only one question left that science has been unable to answer: What will the next universe be like? It has already been confirmed that they will survive a big bang going off, and will survive no matter what alternate physics will be in play, but how it will turn out is completely unable to be predicted.
After aeons of waiting, when the universe has been dead many millions of times longer than it was ever alive in the first place the time finally comes, and a new Big Bang occurs. Humanity collectively watch in anticipation, and then:
They get a front-row seat to an Overgod creating a High-Fantasy D&D-esque cosmology multiverse, complete with Gods, Magic, Elemental, Astral Planes and Far Realms. And they have no idea how any of it works. But Humanity knows one thing. THEY WANT TO KNOW ALL THE THINGS!
How does a ludicrously advanced sci-fi human civilization of might-as-well-be Space!gods and a D&D-like High Fantasy cosmology react to each other?
Eight years ago, everything changed for Devlin: Her country was attacked. Her father was killed. And her mother became the Royal Spymistress, retreating into her position away from everyone… even her daughter.
Joining the spy ranks herself, Dev sees her mother only when receiving assignments. She wants more, but she understands the peril their country, Aris, is in. The malevolent magic force of The Mists is swallowing Aris’s edges, their country is vulnerable to another attack from their wealthier neighbor, and the magic casters who protect them from both are burning out.
Dev has known strength and survival her whole life, but with a dangerous new assignment of infiltrating the royal court of their neighbor country Cerena to steal the magic they need, she learns that not all that glitters is weak. And not all stories are true.
Princess Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the dragon’s pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined.
She must journey to the kingdom of dragons, navigate political intrigue among humans and dragons alike, fend off thieves who covet the pearl for themselves and will go to any lengths to get it, all while cultivating the appearance of a perfect princess to dissuade those who would see her burned at the stake for the magic that runs in her blood.
The pearl itself is no ordinary cargo; it thrums with malevolent power, jumping to Shiori’s aid one minute, and betraying her the next—threatening to shatter her family and sever the thread of fate that binds her to her true love, Takkan. It will take every ounce of strength Shiori can muster to defend the life and the love she’s fought so hard to win.
For sixteen years, Selestra Somniatis has been trapped in a castle on the Floating Mountain, preparing to take her mother’s place as King Seryth’s right hand. Tied by blood to steal souls for the immortal King of the Six Isles, the Somniatis Witch foretells the deaths of participants in the Festival of Predictions. To outrun your fate is to save your soul and steal the King’s immortality. But if you die, your soul is forfeit. And though thousands have tried, nobody has ever beaten death.
As a soldier in King Seryth’s army, Nox Laederic is an unlikely candidate for the Festival, but he has no plans to die at the hands of the King or his witches. His plan is more akin to violent revenge: steal the King’s immortality and kill the entirety of his court, starting with Selestra herself.
But when Selestra touches Nox in her very first prediction, she sees her own death alongside his–their fates are unmistakably intertwined, and Selestra is no longer safe in the only home she’s ever known. Nox and Selestra will have to enter a turbulent alliance in order to survive long enough to free the Six Isles from King Seryth’s clutches and escape the new fate that hunts them.
I never read this series before, even though it’s usually on must-read fantasy lists and it came out in 2009. But of course it’s never too late to start reading a book (one of the best things about them, probably – it’s like reaching back through the years). My brother told me he was going to start reading it and because we have never really read in sync before, this was the perfect opportunity…
In the Old Woods, smaller than the human eye could ever see, there is a world of elemental harmony to be discovered. Play Into The Mist now on our sister app, Fictif.
Back to the origins, in more than one way… Had this image sitting half-finished for something like 2 years, maybe more. Decided to finally get it done :)
