#kingdom fall

My NaNoWriMo project, Daughters of Blood, is now being edited and uploaded on Wattpad!

"The throne at the end of the great hall was full of sharp edges, freezing cold, and soaked with blood."

Considering the title 'Daughters of Blood'.

Genres: sci-fi/fantasy/romance

Tropes: found family, quest, chosen one prophecy, monster/human romance, robot/human romance.

Vibes: dark, dreamy, hopeful, exciting, mysterious.

Summary:

"The daughter of blood will bring your kingdom to it's knees even as it is beginning;

Fear not the beasts of the forest, for the knife is already at your heart."

Name: Noel

Title: none

Age: approx. 30

Traits: flirty but aloof. Keeps his cards close to his chest. Plays the lute. Excellent archer. His loyalty can only be bought.

Backstory: much of Noel's history is a mystery and his personality is best described as 'rogue'. He is controlled by money and has previously been a spy and gun for hire. Jaia hires him to transport her safely across the country without arousing suspicion, but he is not only loyal to her during this quest.

Name: Lysander

Title: King of the South Kingdom

Age: approx. 50

Traits: scheming, clever, holds grudges. Aggressive.

Backstory: After the second-last great war of Vilvia, Lysander was a general who led the army to victory and won his place on the throne. After the country was divided in two during the last great war, he signed a peace treaty with Queen Mera, Jaia's mother. The two had a brief, stormy love affair, during which Mera killed Lysander's favourite wife, the mother of Athalya. It ended when Lysander poisoned Mera, weakening her enough to allow Jaia to kill her. He now plots to kill Jaia and take the throne, uniting the country under him once again. He is also building an army of robots to give him strength in numbers when the peace treaty fails, and has hidden the discovery of AI in the fear that his army may gain sentience and rise against him.

Queen Jaia and Princess Athalya have known each other distantly for many years. The North and South Kingdoms of Vilvia hold a ball once a year to celebrate the peace treaty the two signed, and it is there that the two royals are able to socialise, although the time they spend together is brief. The Princess does save The Queen's life at least once at one of these royal balls.

The relationship between the two women is a tentative friendship, sort of mentor/mentee when the two join forces later in the story. Athalya has limited knowledge of the world, previously unable to see over her castle walls and kept in the dark about her father's plan for invasion, and she relies on Jaia to let her know what is going on. Her strong sense of justice leads her to join Jaia's side in the quest for peace. They grow closer as they travel together.

Athalya is overly attached to her robot companion and may act rashly when he is faced with danger.

Jaia has made a vow to never take another life. Athalya has taken no such vow. When faced with her father at the climax of the story, that knowledge may cause her to take action in a way no one had foreseen.