Strands of White

Cast into the Abyss and swallowed by the river of souls, Elaine Snowtouched should have accepted oblivion. Instead, the prophet of Eternal Winter claws her way back from death itself; determined to unleash a frozen reckoning and prove that destiny can be conquered by will. Far away in Heaven’s Crest, Incindiar Merryweather wants only a quiet life in the shadow of a family that never claimed him. But when the mysterious twins pull him, his reckless best friend, a forgotten Nephilim warrior, and a dragon trapped in mortal flesh onto the same impossible path, the truth of his blood will ignite and the fate of  the kingdom begins. Gods, demons, kings, and monsters all have designs for the world of Oboros. Yet the most dangerous forces may be the ones no prophecy can bind: the Strands of White who can unravel fate itself. Kind feedback from my Editor (for those who want a bit more detail before they read): Incindiar: Incindiar feels like one of the two most important characters in the novel. There are five main characters, and this book but I would call Incindiar the foremost of the heroes, as it feels he got the largest arc. I think you did pretty well with him. Born to human parents who did not understand or love him, he faced prejudice growing up. This endears him to the reader and makes us root for him. He is an underdog despite being born in the upper class, due to the discrimination he faces. I very much enjoyed his friendship with Daniel and also with his comrade Telepse. His fear of hurting those who are close to him was powerful, and I was really feeling it towards the end. A worthy protagonist indeed. Chryses: Chryses is my favorite character. Now maybe I'm biased because I myself am enby similar to them, but I am very pleased to see you including a diversity of identities within your world. I appreciate this and I know your readers will too. I also love their personality, their badass nature, strength, and devotion to their friend and boss Vitriskaeth. I liked their little nicknames, a couple of them made me chuckle. I am glad they survived this adventure and I hope to see them more in the future! Vitriskaeth: I liked her too. It can be argued she is a villain protagonist, or at least she WAS a villain - back when she was a dragon. That being said, this makes her growth as a person unique, and I suspect we will see her grow into more of a hero in the future novels. Her liking of her friend Chryses, plus her understanding of goblin culture shows that there are things to genuinely like about her as a person. That's another thing, speaking of goblins. I'm glad you didn't put that they are an "evil race." Instead, they are a misunderstood culture with different values. The whole concept of objectively evil races is a deeply problematic one that I am glad to see recent fantasy authors interrogate and not include in their stories. Arabella: I found her journey and schemes to be relatable, particularly as it comes to protecting her brother and the guilt she feels for him being in the moral hazard that he is in where the book begins. Elaine: Elaine is the other character who I feel is the true protagonist of Strands of White. And by protagonist, I mean villain protagonist. Incindiar has the heroic arc, hers is the villain arc. I loved reading her ascent to power in the Abyss. Lahab is an interesting sidekick. Elaine has lots of potential. I like how defiant and capable she is even when faced with what powerful odds against her. Despite her villainous nature, I found myself rooting for her at least as far as her opponents in the Abyss are concerned. I look forward to seeing more of her journey. Telepse: As the flirtatious, troublemaking sidekick of Incindiar, I thought Telepse served his role in the story well. It was nice having a more lighthearted character running around.