C01. Emberwrought

The Pitch

The Battle of Rath’s Valley was a massacre. The four families were better than expected but their leaders saw that unless something happened they’d lose, first the battle and then the war — the King’s army was superior in number and equipment and the early faith and energy of the families were ebbing out. And then something did happen. It was just not something that was good for either side. A dragon with a shimmering outer spine with wings that distort reality and carry the stars within them swept down and scorched the valley and parts of the nearby capital.

You survived this massacre, somehow you saw the dragon and lived — thank the stars or curse your bones, whichever feels more appropriate — smoke in your lungs and a burning itch in your chest. You saw your friends and enemies die by the hundreds, literally ending the civil war that was tearing your nation apart but now there might be even less of it than if there had been a victor. The hollow desperation of vengeance makes new friends, even across a battlefield.

Keywords

Gothic, Heroic, Political, Daunting, Tragic, Gritty, Vengeance, Redemption, Hope, Rebirth, Divided Loyalties, Found Family

Touchstones

Mary Gentle’s Ash, Django Wexler’s The Shadow Throne, Martha Wells’ The Witch King, Hannah Whitten’s For the Wolf, Daniel M. Ford’s The Warden,  Steven Erikson’s Gardens of the Moon, selected bits of Dragon Age.
Frightened Rabbit - Blood Under the Bridge
The Decemberists - Don't Carry It All
Shovels & Rope - "The Devil Is All Around"
The Joy Formidable - Maw Maw Song