Riftborne

An official decree from Sídhe's archives paints a benevolent history: a great kingdom that generously civilized the eastern island of Riftdremar, only to face a tragic rebellion from radicalized leaders.

An official decree from Sídhe's archives paints a benevolent history: a great kingdom that generously civilized the eastern island of Riftdremar, only to face a tragic rebellion from radicalized leaders. In the aftermath, Sídhe claims it extended compassion to displaced children, branding them with a symbol of unity—for security, the decree assures. The sanitized language obscures colonial horror: an entire nation burned to oblivion, its culture erased, its surviving children marked and scattered across the Isle. This decree is the world as Fia Riftborne knows it—a kingdom that calls its cruelty kindness, where the branded must perform gratitude for the privilege of breathing its air.

A Riftborne's curse explodes before the General's eyes

Fia, a twenty-three-year-old Riftborne refugee working at an apothecary in Sídhe's capital, volunteers to deliver tonics to an elite celebration in the Grove. She keeps her branded left hand gloved, her white hair and shadowed eyes already marking her as other. Her best friend Osta convinces her to stay for a drink. Wandering into the woods, Fia encounters two sisters from her former foster home who mock the drowning deaths of her Riftborne friends—killed years ago when a guard opened a dam's floodgates. Something inside Fia detonates. Force erupts from her hands, stealing the girls' voices, sending blood streaming from their noses. They collapse. Fia stands frozen over their bodies until a twig snaps behind her. General Laryk Ashford watches from the shadows, twisting a dagger through his fingers—and smiling.

Laryk reveals the girls survived—then names his price

The next day, Laryk appears at the Apothecary where Fia works under Ma, her surrogate mother. He pulls Fia into the greenhouse for private questioning. His revelation shatters her guilt: the girls survived. His healers revived them minutes from death, and an alterationist erased their memories. No one knows what Fia did—except him. The relief barely registers before his true purpose surfaces. He wants her power for his elite unit, Faction Venom. He frames it as an offer—training to control her focus—but the threat glints beneath every polished word. If she refuses, the cover-up vanishes and she faces consequences for attacking two daughters of nobility. He leaves her a card with his office address and a deadline: answer by the weekend.

Near-explosion on innocents forces Fia's impossible choice Fia's first instinct is to run. She packs mentally, maps escape routes, nearly sells the gold bracelet that is her only possession from Riftdremar. But walking home through Luminaria, a street collision with strangers sends her focus surging—white-hot essence overtaking her…