Ardev

Specs: 32, cis guy, he/him, gay/ace, 5′4

Actually the deuteragonist of YMG. A lot of his background and backstory are massive spoilers so I’ll do my best to summarize without details. He comes from a rich, influential family, was kidnapped as a child, tortured and made to do horrible things for years, then finally escaped and returned to society, but shunned his upperclass upbringing and became a book translator. His natural skin color is the brown on his torso, the rest is permanent but altered. He's got hemophilia from his family and PTSD, depression, and substance issues from his background. He is the country's most powerful forger (magic user) by a mile but they tend to keep that under wraps because he's embarrassing.

He is the protagonist's (Mila's) unwilling/uncooperative mentor, assigned to teach her forging (magic). He is blunt, rude, opinionated, and anti social. However, he cares a lot about a couple things. As said by one character, he ‘loves humanity but hates humans’. Massive pacifist on an institutional level but ready to throw down at the slightest provocation. Hates the government and upper class despite being pretty heavily involved in both. To those few he is friends with, he'll act much more pleasantly/civilized. He's been in a relationship with Endel for 12 years and around him he's practically an entirely different person.

Endel

Specs: 33, nonbinary, he/him, bisexual, 6′7

Acts as a sort of advisor/impromptu therapist/friend to Mila. Also comes from a rich and influential family, but following the death of his older brother his father disowned him so he no longer has that connection. Lived through horrific abuse from his father for being weak and 'girly' and spent years as a shy withdrawn and quiet kid. After meeting Ardev and befriending him, learned to come out of his shell and turned into a confident, outgoing, extrovert with gigantic dick energy and a propensity for being slutty. Struggles with harm OCD but hides it from everyone. Third most powerful forger in the country and a provincial judge trying to make his way in the political world.

On paper seems like a complete mary sue - nice, courteous, chill, funny, powerful, attractive, smart, social butterfly, (almost) everyone likes him, confident, noble, polite, etc etc. His faults and secrets start coming into play as things move along. As the survivor of child abuse and domestic abuse, he is a people-pleaser who is noble to a fault. He’s hypersexual and starts losing control of things the more he feels the need to go out and have one-night-stands. Combined with harm OCD that focuses on sexual situations he is constantly battling his own mind, thinking that he's a terrible person. Can’t admit defeat or back down from a fight, which gets him in more than one sticky situation. Slowly starts to accept the fact that he’s nonbinary and not just feminine.

Mila (Milani)

Specs: 18, cis girl, she/her, lesbian, 4′10

Bright curious kid from a minuscule farm town in the rural area known as the ‘upper flats’. Previously lived with her aunt and uncle after her mother died when she was three without telling anyone who her father was. She knew she was a forger (magic user) from a young age but hid it because of the negative feelings most of the lower class have towards forgers. Assigned to have Ardev as a mentor. Eager to learn about forging and everything else, she struggles to fit in with her upper-class classmates given her background. She does her best to stand up for herself but knows that she would face even worse treatment if she retaliated. Out of her depth almost constantly but doing her best.

More of a social slug than a butterfly, is awkward in just about any situation you put her in but loves being with the few friends she does manage to find and pick up. Tough and willing to take on things that she really should not be taking on despite often being scared shitless of the possibility. Constantly had to deal with Ardev's shit but quickly learns to snark back at him and they become fairly close despite their differences. Slowly has to come to terms with her sexuality and gender presentation given she has been taught that being queer is disrespectful of the Gods. Develops a huge crush on a butch girl from the neighboring country, Acrait. 

And that's the main three! Ask about them and I kiss you on the mouth, okay?

The Story

Blurb: In an unsteady time of peace following a generations-long war, Mila, an 18 year old farmer, finds herself unexpectedly thrust into the world of nobility upon discovering she can wield a power thought only to be possessed by the upper class. Struggling to find her feet in this new environment and shunned by those around her, she juggles learning about her abilities, her identity, and the truth of the war behind the propaganda. When her equally ostracized mentor gets a tip about a plot to assassinate one of the country’s leaders, it’s down the dysfunctional teacher with a shady past and his apprentice who can barely control her powers to prevent the country from falling back into conflict.

Setting:

Magic: Low fantasy with scarce/rare magic. The magic is called forging and is basically element magic but I wanted to explain all the hand movements people do with those so I incorporated more rules and ‘science’ to make it more rigid. there are ten basic ‘facets’ (air, fire, water, stone, earth, wood, iron, copper, blood, bone) and people can be born knowing any number, or special different ones, but it gets exponentially rarer with more facets. the magic is genetic and mostly confined to the upper class and has become a way of oppressing the lower class. this actually gets addressed rather than mentioned then ignored (cough, korra, cough)

Culture: The aesthetics of the main country, Odrad, are based on african, middle eastern, and mediterranean cultures, with a bit of southern asian. However most of that is simply due to the setting being dry and hot, and so developing dark skin and loose clothing and making most things out of stone and plaster due to the scarcity of wood. Religion is polytheistic based around an all mother type goddess and the god of the sun with the biggest festival being the start of the wet season.

The government is controlled by a Council and lawmakers appointed through voting, with voting power being determined by how much land you own. Because of this the upper class control everything after buying up all the land. Given almost all forgers are upper class as well, the disparity has grown huge and the country is on the brink of falling apart as the upper class and forgers squeeze the lower class dry.

The plot is centered around both this disparity and class struggle as well as the fact that Odrad used to be at war with the neighboring country Sheiro, and is now at a tipping point where relations between the two could improve or explode back into war again. Neither country is 'the good guy' and both are equally responsible for the deaths and destruction caused by the war.