heist / adventure
urban fantasy / science meets magic
dystopian governments / gentlemen thieves
corruption, power and rebellion / grief, healing, and redemption
In the world of Aphirah, magic is a natural resource, a gift fallen from the stars. Some mages view it as a science bound by rules and conventions; others treat it as an art that draws its power from intention and expression. But for the five Houses of Aphirah, magic is a plague, a weapon too freely deployed by anarchists and criminals resisting the iron fist of their rule. The Heirs of these Houses bear the weight of the expectation to crush this resistance— an expectation they don't know how to fulfill, until whispers of a long-lost power returning present a chance to reverse their fortunes.
Cyrin and Mireya, two thieves of the underground Arcade, don't expect to be the heralds of that change when they accidentally discover the location of an ancient artifact with the power to alter the world's magic supply. One thing is certain to them: it cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the autocratic Houses. So when the Heirs approach them with an offer to steal it on their behalf, the two of them plan to double-cross them and run off with the artifact and the money. But as the law-bound and the lawless discover they have an enemy in common— a ruthless crime lord planning to seize control of the world's magic to enact his revenge— they must choose whether to work together, or allow the cycle of violence to iterate once again.
Hello, and welcome to my attempt at Camp NovMo! TLS already exists as a completed first draft, but it needs some serious work. I plan to rewrite many of the early chapters entirely, retroactively add some details I thought of too late, and also implement feedback from YWS reviews along the way. I have a busy July, so my goal is 10k words, which should get me a good ways toward having something new and hopefully exciting for my beta readers to read, and allow me to start the sequel sooner. I'm excited to share my progress here!
