QThe Inverted: Rise of the Unchosen

Caspian Gray was the youngest in the empire to manifest his hero's mark, despite being from another world. None of that means much after 80 years of screwing around. He's the epitome of wasted potential, the guy who'd crack a joke at a funeral. So when hero candidates got picked for the trials, his name wasn't called. Instead, he's shipped out with the rest of the unchosen on a rite of passage. A grand journey! A lie sold by the council. And when the door shuts behind him, the real world bares its fangs. Then we have Clara Brooks, who clawed her way up from the wastelands and actually made the cut. Good news: she's in. Bad news: the trials have a body count, her cursed armor won't stop talking, and her new friend might like her a little more than "just friends" usually implies. Oh, and a fat, cigarette-smokin' mermaid pelted her with coconuts. Neither of them knows it yet, but their paths are meant to intertwine. Somewhere down the line an eccentric hermit waits, ready to change everything they know. Well... Assuming they can get him to stop ranting about shoes. And assuming they even make it there alive. What to expect: -20 thousand words up front and another 6000 words a week until the book finishes-Massive worldbuilding and deep lore, including not-so-traditional dragons, faeries, mermaids, etc.-Adventure with the fate of mankind hanging in the balance.-A hero's party full of misfits.-Magic and swords!-The unexpected... Seriously, get used to it.