About this story: This story takes your typical system apocalypse novel and fast forwards a few thousand years. Humanity has learned to live with the system, magic and technology are integrated in all kinds of interesting ways, and humanity - along with the fellow sentient species they share their world with - have even reached for the stars. Starships fueled with aether are common modes of transportation. Colonization has occurred on most of the planets and moons within the solar system. This story is a character focused space fantasy, following a ragtag team of unique individuals as they travel the solar system undertaking whatever quests and missions they manage to scrounge up. At least, until they find themselves embroiled in something much, much more... Read below for a synopsis. The initial release will be relatively slow - about one chapter a week, every Monday. I’ll try to ramp up the output a little once we reach Arc 2. Arc 1 is mostly build-up and character development, gathering the cast together, but there’s still plenty of action and adventure! If you see any typos, mistakes, or clunky phrasing, please point it out in the comments! It really helps. Thanks for reading. ___________________________ Synopsis: Four unsuspecting individuals from drastically different walks of life end up on a ship together, taking any quests they can to keep the lights on and food on the table. Taryn is a down-on-her-luck mage from a previously influential family on Titania. After her father’s death and her mother’s descent into madness and disappearance, her family lost it all. She’s hunting for any clues to her mother’s whereabouts as they travel through the system. Zynth is a metal chimera that looks deceptively human. He was created by an illicit group of mages wanted in most quadrants of the solar system for necromancy and other forbidden taboos. As the first of his kind, he’s trying to keep a low profile while discovering what he really is and why he exists. Shen is the rogueish half-elf captain of the ship; one that has a tendency to get into trouble no matter where they dock. His first mate, Blood, is a minotaur that owes Shen a life-debt, acting as Shen’s second-in-command until he can repay said debt. They have a long and complicated history together, but it only takes a few drinks to coax it out of them. Through a quirk of fate, they are thrust into the center of a situation far bigger than they realize when they come across a transport ship under attack by a bizarre starship the likes of which they’ve never seen. Wreathed in shadows and seeming to pour forth an unending wave of undead pirates from its belly, it was truly a ship of nightmares, but that was only the beginning...