The Aldermoons: Book One - The Academy

In Trecara, peace is maintained by the god Aias, who, after the great war that once nearly destroyed the world, sacrificed herself to create magical shards that grant power to those chosen to attend the Academy. Every two dozen years, two dozen Chosen are selected from the ruling races of elves, dwarves, and orcs to study at the Academy and receive a Forte at graduation. For eight hundred years, this system has preserved peace. Until the human twins Adric and Irabel Aldermoon. Their selection shocks the realm and draws immediate suspicion. While travelling to the Academy, the Chosen witness one of their number, a Rogue known as The Shade, murder another student. The Shade has been systematically killing others who share his Forte in order to prove his superiority, suggesting that the stability of the Chosen system is already breaking. As tensions rise, blame for the instability begins to fall on the twins. At the same time, political tensions deepen when it becomes clear that the Ascendants, elite Chosen with two Fortes, are not united in their loyalty to Trecara. One Ascendant is preparing for war, and wants the orcs to rule once more. At the Academy, Adric and Irabel train alongside the other Chosen, forming alliances and rivalries while trying to survive in a system that increasingly views them as a threat. They begin to suspect their selection is not an accident, but intentional, though its purpose remains unknown. At graduation, the full consequences of the broken system emerge. The elven Ascendant dies, removing one of the stabilising forces of Trecara. Irabel manifests unknown abilities that place her outside all known classifications. Adric manifests two Fortes, becoming the new Ascendant, a position of power that immediately places him in the political hierarchy of Trecara and makes him a target for those who fear change. With the system of Aias now visibly unstable and Ascendants fractured, Adric and Irabel are left with power they do not fully understand and enemies on all sides. Their survival and the truth behind their selection become central to the future stability of Trecara. I will be posting 2 chapters a week.