M.L.  Wang

Magic has made the city of Tiran an industrial utopia, but magic has a cost—and the collectors have come calling.

An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant.

What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power.

Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance?

A standalone dark academia brimming with mystery, tragedy, and the damning echoes of the past. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

(Content warnings for gore, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation)

Blood Over Bright Haven

Celina Irena Kuhn

Women are always told to be kind, be forgiving, be nurturing. As far as I know, its never gotten them anywhere. The men of Tiran, who have the real power, wont return the favor when it matters. 

"So, what does that mean?" She demanded of the night. "I have to stay here?" In this utterly unacceptable reality where all good I've ever done - all the good I've ever known - is an evil?

Thomil opened his eyes and knew for certain in his broken heart: This was how the Caldonnae truly died. In pain too great for two small souls to bear without corruption.

A man could get to a very high Level of magic without ever having an original thought.

They did what a man was supposed to do: they revered and obeyed the men above them, pusued greatness in the model of their predecessors, and, in the end, they were rewarded with power, acclaim and dominion over besser beings - a small godhood of their own.

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