ashen-crest: [ID: a digitally drawn banner. On the left, a man with light brown skin and dark, curly
ashen-crest: [ID: a digitally drawn banner. On the left, a man with light brown skin and dark, curly hair holds a lute with glowing flowers coming out of the sound hole. On the right, the text reads “The Stray Spirit.” end ID] WIP Re-Intro: The Stray Spirit Struggling bard Emry Karic has only one path home: impress the Auric Guild, join the ranks of the elite musicians therein, and return to his family with his honor in hand. Difficult to do on a good day. Impossible to do with a possessed lute. Just before the biggest performance of his life, a talkative forest spirit named Aspen traps themself in Emry’s lute. Emry swears the spirit to silence on stage, in exchange for a favor: he will help Aspen investigate the magical earthquake that forced them into the instrument. But Emry is a bard, not a scholar, and their research leads them straight to the person who resents him the most: Cal Breslin, his academia-entrenched ex-girlfriend. As they delve into the forgotten mythology of spirits and gods, they uncover an ancient folktale. The tale recounts an earth-shattering quake, one whose magical energy consumed all living things as it swept across the country. The story’s details echo what Emry and Aspen experienced the night before. And as the apocalypse looms, the Auric Guild taps Emry for a callback, throwing his family’s ultimatum into conflict with their very survival. The Basics Light-hearted NA/adult fantasy with a romantic subplot, self-publishing this year! Recommended if you’re running in the opposite direction of grimdark. Think blankets and hot cocoa, Diana Wynne Jones and Tamora Pierce. I specialize in soft and emotional. Characters Emry Karic: mid-20′s, anxious bard just doing his best. For better and for worse, he’s a man of his word. Cal Breslin: mid-20′s, brilliant and slightly snobbish Academy student. Not thrilled that her ex-boyfriend is coming to her with a major metaphysical discovery stuck in his lute. Aspen: 140 going on 14. Childish, curious, energetic, naive. Just wants to protect their grove. Themes & Tropes Prodigal son, exes to lovers, self-esteem, luck, facing fears, truth within myths, Friendship™, found family of the “I am adopting myself into this family” flavor More Info! My pinned post will have links to character posts, the WIP intro page, side drabbles, and a list of the WIP’s main tags. I also have a taglist! If you want to get notifs (~once a week, likely less) for upcoming character posts, snippets, artwork, and release updates, please ask/DM/reply to join. TSS Taglist under the cut: Keep reading i love this re-intro!! :D -- source link