So, this is the novel I'm working on in preparation for my trilogy. It tells the back story of one of Saiyara's "fellowship" members, Anouk.
Anouk lives in the desert kingdom Syrtis, one of the eight kingdoms of Iridia (to learn more about Iridia, its religion, unamenti and Sunweaving, read the post titled "Iridia").
Anouk is nineteen-years-old, has long red hair, piercing yellow eyes, and golden brown skin, just like every other Syrtian. She and her shadow fox unamenti Senka (a fox with fur that blends into its surroundings) live in the the Syrtian palace Nytia'Tar. Anouk is a Sunweaver, as well as one of the queen's royal assassins. She is preparing to take her mother's place as Master Assassin, but her addiction to thrills causes everyone, including herself, to wonder if she's right for the job.
Anouk's real trouble begins when someone aids a band of Syrtian pirates (lead by the bloodthirsty Nazaam) in infiltrating Nytia'Tar, and then frames Anouk for it. And later, when the royal assassins sneak aboard the pirates' ship, this same mysterious enemy thwarts the mission, killing Anouk's mother and framing Anouk for all of it. The sight of her mother's death causes Anouk so much shock and pain she goes into Chroma Surge (explained in the Iridia post) and begins wreaking havoc. Senka goes into it as well in a smaller degree, and had one of the pirates not knocked the fox out, both she and Anouk would have burned to death from the inside out.
When Anouk wakes, she discovers she is blind, in prison, and sentenced to death. These realizations, along with the severity of her physical pain, crush her and keep her from escaping on her own. Fortunately Sioba, a sacred Nakinyara dancer and one of her best friends, helps her escape. She aids Anouk in stealing a riding snake, points her in the direction of the city gates, and distracts the guards. Anouk is then free to flee into the desert, but not before taking an arrow to the shoulder and getting caught in a sudden, violent sandstorm. This storm scares away her pursuers, but will kill her if she doesn't find shelter. Anouk has no choice but to kill her riding snake, climb in its mouth, and wait for the storm to subside. But before it does, she passes out a second time from loss of blood.
When she wakes this time, she discovers she has been imprisoned by a mysterious stranger named Kairan (k-eye-ran). He has separated her from Senka, and will only give her back after Anouk gets him an audience with the queen. He doesn't say why. Anouk, however, is tired of being a pawn in everyone else's schemes. She vows that she will gain her freedom, uncover her mother's murderer, and have her revenge if it kills her. To do this, she'll first have to learn how to function without her sight, gain her captor's trust, and trick him into giving up Senka's location. But when she begins to have feelings for the cryptic, ambitious Kairan, things really start to get complicated...
Anyway, I have a pretty good idea where I want things to go after this, but it's not set in stone, so I'll post it later. Hope you like it so far!
Thanks for reading!
Anouk lives in the desert kingdom Syrtis, one of the eight kingdoms of Iridia (to learn more about Iridia, its religion, unamenti and Sunweaving, read the post titled "Iridia").
Anouk is nineteen-years-old, has long red hair, piercing yellow eyes, and golden brown skin, just like every other Syrtian. She and her shadow fox unamenti Senka (a fox with fur that blends into its surroundings) live in the the Syrtian palace Nytia'Tar. Anouk is a Sunweaver, as well as one of the queen's royal assassins. She is preparing to take her mother's place as Master Assassin, but her addiction to thrills causes everyone, including herself, to wonder if she's right for the job.
Anouk's real trouble begins when someone aids a band of Syrtian pirates (lead by the bloodthirsty Nazaam) in infiltrating Nytia'Tar, and then frames Anouk for it. And later, when the royal assassins sneak aboard the pirates' ship, this same mysterious enemy thwarts the mission, killing Anouk's mother and framing Anouk for all of it. The sight of her mother's death causes Anouk so much shock and pain she goes into Chroma Surge (explained in the Iridia post) and begins wreaking havoc. Senka goes into it as well in a smaller degree, and had one of the pirates not knocked the fox out, both she and Anouk would have burned to death from the inside out.
When Anouk wakes, she discovers she is blind, in prison, and sentenced to death. These realizations, along with the severity of her physical pain, crush her and keep her from escaping on her own. Fortunately Sioba, a sacred Nakinyara dancer and one of her best friends, helps her escape. She aids Anouk in stealing a riding snake, points her in the direction of the city gates, and distracts the guards. Anouk is then free to flee into the desert, but not before taking an arrow to the shoulder and getting caught in a sudden, violent sandstorm. This storm scares away her pursuers, but will kill her if she doesn't find shelter. Anouk has no choice but to kill her riding snake, climb in its mouth, and wait for the storm to subside. But before it does, she passes out a second time from loss of blood.
When she wakes this time, she discovers she has been imprisoned by a mysterious stranger named Kairan (k-eye-ran). He has separated her from Senka, and will only give her back after Anouk gets him an audience with the queen. He doesn't say why. Anouk, however, is tired of being a pawn in everyone else's schemes. She vows that she will gain her freedom, uncover her mother's murderer, and have her revenge if it kills her. To do this, she'll first have to learn how to function without her sight, gain her captor's trust, and trick him into giving up Senka's location. But when she begins to have feelings for the cryptic, ambitious Kairan, things really start to get complicated...
Anyway, I have a pretty good idea where I want things to go after this, but it's not set in stone, so I'll post it later. Hope you like it so far!
Thanks for reading!
