After a lot of overhauls which took about 2 years longer than I expected, Prince for Hire is finally ready for beta readers!
Title: Prince for Hire
Genre: High Fantasy
WC: 107k
The Short Version:
A con artist whose prophecies create fate poses as a prince in an invading empire's hostage court for the chance to undo the prophecy which kills his adoptive parent.
If you like The Goblin Emperor (Addison), Witch King (Wells), and a hint, like La Croix, of BBC's Merlin, you might like this.
Longer blurb under the cut.
Promised longer blurb:
Kiris is a horrible Prophet. He is an excellent con artist.
Supposedly exalted as the True Prophet, whose reality-creating Prophecies are meant to unite the fractured Avgor principalities, Kiris is loathed instead. To date, his "great" Prophecies have caused: nineteen famines, seventeen blights, three avalanches, an empire's invasion, and the imminent death of Prince Thaav, the only one who could have stopped the invasion.
When the empire demands a prince from every principality to compete for the right to rule Avgor on the empress' behalf, it's the last thing Kiris wants to deal with. If he can reach Prince Thaav before Prophecy kills them, together, they might be able to halt the empire. Even if Prince Thaav imprisons him for his Prophecies after.
But Kiris is a penniless fugitive. He needs cash to reach Prince Thaav in time, and fast. So when a nobleman recognizes him as the landless Prince Yphant na Suem--one of Kiris' least-favorite identities--Kiris rolls with it. If Kiris agrees to intimidate the local prince on the nobility's behalf, the nobleman will fund all the travel Kiris can dream of.
The local prince is not amused. If she doesn't offer herself or another prince to the empire's competition, the empire will destroy her principality. Fortunately for her, the landless Prince na Suem has just waltzed into her castle. Unfortunately for Kiris, Prince na Suem is imminently adoptable.
CWs:
referenced child abuse, religious trauma, massacre-type violence, temporary animal death
Not-Really-A-Spoiler: the Boots didn't make the cut (they disappeared circa draft 4 and we're on 7, depending how you count). It got... a little more serious than I was intending.
Ye Olde Taglist + a few people who've put up with Prince for ages now (I know it's been a bit):
@on-noon @houndsofcorduff @stuffaboutwriting @shrunkupthejams @whimsyqueen @eccaiia @avrablake
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Call me Hendo. She/her. I write mostly fantasy and sci-fi, with the occasional horror short story.
Happy to beta read/critique swap most things. Don't be afraid to message about something. In particular, if you've got a flying scene you need eyes on, I'm a pilot--I might be able to help.
Here's what I've got going on. Might do proper WIP introductions if there's interest. Questions, tags, and ask games are welcome!
WIPs
Seed - sci-fi - 12k/55k?
Think Flowers for Algernon meets Mickey 7. Mayfly clones with a research grant.
The first draft for this thing is, for some reason, turning out to be mostly dialogue, which is a bit odd and going to be an absolute PITA to edit up later.
Molly's Maple Mill - cozy fantasy - 35k/70k
"The trouble with semi-sentient maple trees wasn't that they were sentient, but that they weren't sentient enough."
Small town vibes, MC must figure out how to stop her sugar grove from migrating before the next tapping season. Lots of small magic and random things becoming semi sentient/sentient, including Rock, the MC's pet rock.
Tyrant for Sale/Tombspell - high fantasy - 6k/120k
Book 2 in Prince for Hire/Wordbound.
The end goal for Prince was for Kiris to willingly accept a hug; the end goal for this is for Kiris to realize he can give them, too. Also, gotta overthrow a tyrant.
On the Habitats of Gods - academia/high fantasy - 25k/???k (too long)
Think Pokemon's Pokopia meets Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries
In the same universe as Prince/Tyrant, set about 6 months prior. The MC is a student sorcerer working towards her house scholar degree, but in order to pass her alchemy practical, she must complete an independent study. She chooses to research the difference between ingredients unwillingly and willingly given--which is to say, she needs to figure out how to attract gods, and quickly. It's a good thing the cute inquisitor-select student is being forced to help her out.
Untitled - YA fantasy - 3k/70k?
Mermaid flying fish dragon shifters + balls/debutante season.
This thing's mostly concept art right now, I'll be honest.
Completed
Reverberate - military space opera - 105k
Some Desperate Glory + The Vorkosigan Saga
Status: shelved, but realizing there's some spots for edits, so poking at it in my spare time.
Wordbound (formerly: Prince for Hire) - high fantasy - 112k
"When a fugitive god-king whose involuntary prophecies create reality foresees the death of his adoptive parent, he infiltrates an empireās hostage court to undo his parentās prophecy before his parent realizes he murdered them."
Reason for Deleting: was working on setting up the kidnapped sorcerers thing (relevant with Batar's story-line and then a bit later with a recurring inquisitor who would make a fantastic drinking buddy), but this is still first half. Focus needs to remain on Prince Thaav, rather than the chaos that Kiris is resolutely ignoring.
Ways to fix: continue emphasizing Kiris' blinding loyalty to Prince Thaav, and continue deleting or winnowing those bits which don't support that. Other plot points should be hinted at and set up, but not emphasized.
Excerpt length: 343
Context: It's Kiris' first night in the Turre's Tesendi fortress - his first night surrounded by legit enemies - and while working out his plan to save Prince Thaav, he gets distracted by torn-out confession journal pages, which contain the last remnants of their owners' souls.
I'll be getting around to updating the WIP intro in a short eventually, so keep an eye out.
As for taglist: since it has been a hot minute since I was last actively posting, please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed to/from the taglist. @whimsyqueen @on-noon @houndsofcorduff @stuffaboutwriting @shrunkupthejams
Kiris was sure that if he were within Prince Thaavās quarters, he would find the old prince snoring loudly enough to shake Tesendiās walls. As it was, he could only hear their snapping soul, see it in flickers of sunshine yellow through the haze of ryd, and imagine its warmth. He knew where they were. He didn't know about the journalsā owners. Kiris listened behind him for the guards and found them safely distributed between their chambers and the living quarters, and braced himself against his desk. The pages fluttered like slaughtered things beneath him.
Carefully, Mahehv as a fluttering, scarlet anchor, he lead the realms thinner. Beyond and before Prince Thaav: their fellow princes, servants, and guards. Walls. Turre deadālong dead. Servants like Verosa hustling about in oddly narrow halls.
Farther.
Prince Ysiik, awake. In her quarters, however, and not near Prince Thaavās: no concern tonight. Those other Prince Thaav-irritated princes, asleep.
Farther.
Ta Ritasa in his quarters, with company. Kiris moved by swiftly.
āL Tuola in hers, the same dead soul which covered her quiver in crystalline clarity next to her bedside. Within her bed, Kiris corrected, and then moved even faster from her. Downwards.
Aathriokās parent, weeping on the unyielding floor of the dining hall. Weeping, pulling towards Empathy and singing of dolorous bells, tolling and crying andā
Mahehv twitched against his neck.
āfarther.
The green sanctuary goddess, barely existing under the Currentsā skies. Somehow surviving. Her hunger was like cracking ice, her desperation like drums, herā
Farther.
Here.
Polarized fear.
Studies, and restraints.
His people.
When Kiris withdrew from ryd, it beat into his body and collapsed him under his desk, Prophecy pounding for release and promising relief. When he could feel Mahehvās claws again over his own pain; when he could hear it chirping and its feathers rustling over the lives of countless people and innumerable things; when he could open his eyes and see solid outline; when he could think again, he realized by choosing not to be oblivious, heād taken a bathtub to his āsave Prince Thaavā plan.
Hey, everyone! Figured it was time to update my intro.
Call me Hendo, she/her, early twenties. I write fantasy, science-fiction, and sometimes horror, all with an emphasis on characterization over plot. In my longer manuscripts, there are always dragons, a casually queer cast, and at least one explosion.
I'm happy to do beta swaps under 15k, or honestly even longer depending on what my work schedule is that week. Said work schedule varies between "I'm basically on paid vacation for the next month" to "oh shit oh shit oh shit" without much warning, so, uh, yeah.
Tag and ask games are always welcome. If you ever just want to pop by and chat, maybe to say hi, maybe to work out a sticky plot thread, maybe to talk characters or editing, I'm here for it!
My WIPs
Let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist for anything.
A young special ops soldier sets out to find and kill the shareholders who murdered her family, but revenge becomes complicated when she discovers her brother imprisoned in a facility universally infamous for its mental reprogramming.
found-family/family as a choice, introspective narration, stoicism, revenge, space roombas
WIP intro | tag: attenuate/reverberate
Prince for Hire | new-adult | draft 3, 110k | doing a paper edit
A prophetic con-artist is tricked into becoming a prince and entering a conquering empress' Competition to rule the region.
rags-to-riches, learning to forgive, first steps of romance/learning to trust, magic causes more problems than it solves
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Qualityā Free Actions
Free to watch ā¢ No registration required ā¢ HD streaming
Tagging in turn (and, as always, open tag): @avrablake @on-noon and @starscribes
Your words are: love, praise, affection, and hug.
My words were find, seek, scour, and search. From Prince for Hire (which I really ought to rewrite the intro for, and maybe update the PowerPoint):
Find:
Kiris drummed his fingers on the frigid window and chewed his lip. He could do this. He needed to do this. āI need anything you can find on medicinal Waters studies, anything on potions known to cause death and their antidotes, and Nazviliās notes on the princes in Competition from Kauvo, Virkii, and Kasikir. His fingers chilled with each tap. āI also need to know the contents of Kysminov Evinaās drawers.ā
Seek:
Nelovskevouk ought to kill him for his lies, and every moment they interacted in public bubbled more and more nervous anticipation, thrill-seeking, in Kirisā limbs. Yet, somehow, those nerves evaporated when they were in private. When it was just the two of them.
Scour:
āA Temple is a strange place for a prince to be raised,ā Batar said. Kiris jerked back. āTemples, damnation, and a prince vakon-no wonder everyone scours your legitimacy records. Does Nazvili know of how you would curse Strauv?ā
Search:
Kiris bowed again, heart pounding, cursing Ta Ritasa in all the languages he knew. āAn inquisition,ā he said, āfor the peasant among us.ā
hiii!! it's been a while! hope you're doing well :)
idk how new it is but i like the prince for hire banner!! i gasped so loud when i saw it (AND THE BOOTS ON IT) on your recent prince for hire deleted scenes post lol
@shrunkupthejams!! Life is good :) Hope it is for you, too!
And yes!! Banners!!!! @daisywords made them for me a bit ago, and they're fantastic. She nailed the colors and images and font and yeah. Any opportunity to use? 10/10 taking it.
