Synopsis
Watch out, there’s a big blue griffin about.
Erin, a nineteen-year-old orphaned and paralyzed after a tragic accident three years ago, finds solace in vivid dreams that take her to a breathtaking ocean world called Emerrane, where griffins soar and merlings wage wars. When she finds herself trapped in this dream world, she struggles to accept that it's not just a figment of her imagination. Terrified of losing anything else in her increasingly small world, she narrowly avoids ruining this new life she’s been given in her efforts to hold on to the past. Letting go of her uncle Desmond and embracing her future as a griffin rider is her first big step in growing up and accepting her new reality.
Leslyn is a young man seeking a new life in the city of Nilvar. Shortly into his trip there, he is accused of stowing away on a prince's ship, mistaken for Erin's lookalike uncle, and nearly gets eaten by a giant blue griffin named Wrath who definitely holds a grudge after Leslyn accidentally helps to capture her. To achieve his goals, he must navigate his way through the citizenship politics of Nilvar and learn to cope with his (thankfully) temporary master, the reckless prince who’s always putting his own neck on the line. He never expected to become a griffin rider, and certainly didn't expect (or want) to be swept up into the business of the Queen and her doomed quest.
Appointed by a god long absent from their world, the Queen is a generational figure who appears when calamity strikes. For the last four centuries while the merlings have ruled the seas and prevented sailing to distant lands unreachable by griffin-back, the Queens have been unable to fulfill their divine mission to search out their five knights and complete the ritual that would restore Emerrane. The planet remains divided and in turmoil, its broken moon a constant visual reminder of their failure. Will Erin, Leslyn and their friends be able to help Katharesa, the Queen of their generation, to succeed and finally break the cycle of failure and destruction that has persisted for four hundred years?
***
What to expect:
Dragonriders of Pern (but with griffins) meets Final Fantasy X. There is griffin-riding and a world-spanning pilgrimage requiring “unlocking” of new and differing locations that hold more storyline and sidequesting. Low magic in the form of racial abilities such as shapeshifting, no casting spells or system. Not a litRPG by any stretch, but might have some breeding sim elements in later arcs.
[x] Slow burn with a tight-knit cast over several years[x] Baby griffins[x] Griffins everywhere in general[x] Multiple and varied cultures and locations[x] Tons of character growth/relationship/interaction[x] Consequences for actions
[_] Number go up[_] Power fantasy[_] Sexy times[_] Earth-based profanity[_] Immortality (someone important definitely dies, but it’s foreshadowed so often that they may as well have a flashing neon sign over their head)
Initial release schedule: Monday/Friday/Saturday.
Cover Art by ttazo.
Table of Contents
- 1Chapter 1 - The Death of Her Old Life...2024-11-13
- 2Chapter 1.5 - …And the Birth of Her New Life2024-11-13
- 3Chapter 2 - Stop Calling Me That2024-11-13
- 4Chapter 3 - Wrath2024-11-13
- 5Chapter 4 - Battle in the Air2024-11-13
- 6Chapter 5 - I’ll Get You For This2024-11-13
- 7Chapter 6 - Onward and Upward To the Aerie2024-11-13
- 8Chapter 7 - So Much for First Impressions2024-11-13
- 9Chapter 8 - No Longer the All-Powerful Author2024-11-13
- 10Chapter 9 - The Keets Arrive2024-11-13
- 11Chapter 10 - The Honor of a Griffin2024-11-13
- 12Chapter 11 - Somehow, Erin Checks the Wiki2024-11-13
- 13Chapter 12 - A Little Griffin, a Flirty Queen, and a Big Jerk2024-11-13
- 14Chapter 13 - Children’s Lessons2024-11-13
- 15Chapter 14 - Desmond's True Feelings2024-11-13
- 16Chapter 15 - Wrath’s First Choice2024-11-13
- 17Chapter 16 - A Very Smart Girl Refuses to Settle2024-11-13
- 18Chapter 17 - Wrath Gets What She Wants2024-11-13
- 19Chapter 18 - A Promise is Kept2024-11-13
- 20Chapter 19 - The Ugly Truth2024-11-13
- 21Chapter 20 - The Crimes of Captain Arrex2024-11-13
- 22Chapter 21 - Everyone is a Chosen One… Well, Almost Everyone2024-11-13
- 23Chapter 22 – Rumors Continue to Abound2024-11-13
- 24Chapter 23 - Valiant2024-11-13
- 25Chapter 24 - The Dragon, Goma Gomok2024-11-13
- 26Chapter 25 - Haste and Feckless Plans2024-11-13
- 27Chapter 26 - The Rift Between a Captain and His Son2024-11-13
- 28Chapter 27 - A Big Jerk and a Stupid Girl Face Off2024-11-13
- 29Chapter 28 - A Stupid Girl and a Short Boy Also Face Off2024-11-13
- 30Chapter 29 - When the Bells Ring, the Griffins Take Wing2024-11-13
- 31Chapter 30 - Flood Season Means Blood Season2024-11-13
- 32Chapter 31 - A Threat Greater Still2024-11-13
- 33Chapter 32 - Two Would-Be Captains Take Charge2024-11-13
- 34Chapter 33 - To Spare Another Flamewing2024-11-13
- 35Chapter 34 - All According to Plan2024-11-13
- 36Chapter 35 - When She Wants Something Done Right, Wrath Does It Herself2024-11-13
- 37Chapter 36 - Clearly, There Was a Miscommunication2024-11-13
- 38Chapter 37 - No Dodging the (Ever-Increasing) Consequences2024-11-13
- 39Chapter 38 - A Stupid Girl Finally Faces Reality2024-11-13
- 40Chapter 39 - Not What I Signed Up For2024-11-13
- 41Chapter 40 - No Need For Boats2024-11-13
- 42Chapter 41 - Warm or Cold?2024-11-13
- 43Chapter 42 - Leverage2024-11-13
- 44Chapter 43 - Terms Accepted2024-11-13
- 45Chapter 44 - A Queen, a Beast, a Dragon, and a Griffin2024-11-13
- 46Chapter 45 - No Spoilers Allowed2024-11-13
- 47Chapter 46 - Too Close for Comfort2024-11-13
- 48Chapter 47 - The Brightest Spark2024-11-13
- 49Chapter 48 - Life’s Rough, And a Merling’s Gotta Eat2024-11-13
- 50Chapter 49 - An Uncle’s Concern2024-11-13
- 51Chapter 50 - Griffin Basic Training: Day One2024-11-13
- 52Chapter 51 - The Renegades2024-11-13
- 53Chapter 52 - Contrary to His Name2024-11-13
- 54Chapter 53 - Caught In the Act2024-11-13
- 55Chapter 54 - Swept Away to Something More2024-11-13
- 56Chapter 55 - Where it All Started2024-11-13
- 57Chapter 56 - Why, Exactly, Am I Here?2024-11-13
- 58Chapter 57 - Another Battle, Wear Those Saddles!2024-11-13
- 59Chapter 58 - If It Sounds Too Good to be True…2024-11-13
- 60Chapter 59 - Too Late, She’s Gone2024-11-13
- 61Chapter 60 - This is Not My Native Environment2024-11-13
- 62Chapter 61 - An Uncle Gets the Bad News2024-11-13
- 63Chapter 62 - A Grudging Alliance in the Making2024-11-13
- 64Chapter 63 - The Cursed Slab Reveals All2024-11-13
- 65Chapter 64 - Elsewhere in Emerrane, a Merling Steps in It2024-11-13
- 66Chapter 65 - That Was Awkward2024-11-13
- 67Chapter 66 - Connecting the Dots2024-11-13
- 68Chapter 67 - The Slabbet Recommends Sky Jellies2024-11-13
- 69Chapter 68 - A “Reward” Most Inappropriate2024-11-13
- 70Chapter 69 - Her Perfect Plan2024-11-13
- 71Chapter 70 - The One Who Was There All Along2024-11-13
- 72Chapter 71 - Only Time to Act2024-11-13
- 73Chapter 72 - Escape to the Nilvar Shallows2024-11-13
- 74Chapter 73 - At Long Last2024-11-13
- 75Chapter 74 - Turning the Tides2024-11-13
- 76Chapter 75 - A Stupid Girl Comes Clean2024-11-13
- 77Chapter 76 - Farewell to a Friend2024-11-13
- 78Chapter 77 - The Beginning of a New Friendship2024-11-13
- 79Chapter 78 - Another Year Together [End of Volume One]2024-11-13