| Summary: | The following submission contains five chapters from the beginning of the fantasy novel Pelagic, the first book in a trilogy set in a secondary world. The rough draft of the book was completed January 2023, and the following chapters are either rewrites or new content produced for the second draft.
Pelagic follows Maeve Brontide as she recruits allies to help her and her brother rescue their parents from the shipping corporation Argent. In its pursuit of wealth and influence, Argent has killed one of the four gods to steal his power over the sea and sky, known as Aeolia. As the Brontide parents are knowledgeable about Aeolia, their family has been in-hiding for the past several years to escape Argent. After her parents are kidnapped, Maeve navigates her new Aeolian powers and meets other individuals who have suffered as a result of Argent’s conquests. By the end of the novel, she decides she can no longer step aside and let Argent wreak more destruction, even if that means risking the safety of her and her family. After rescuing her parents and friends and meeting the goddess Eurus, Maeve commits to taking down Argent.
Pelagic and its subsequent novels Abyssal and Pacific provide an exploration of responsibility, power, and agency; trauma and mental health; faith; and the search for meaning. Now that the death of a god has released magic back into the world, the characters must debate what purpose that magic should be used for; could there be a balance among Aeolia’s use to accrue capital, to provide humanitarian relief, and/or to create? In particular, the author’s background as a mechanical engineer and artist has inspired her to explore the ways elemental magic can influence architecture, construction, and art.
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