Estora

My story is set in a Baroque-inspired fantasy world and follows four characters in the aftermath of war and the beginnings of a revolution growing throughout the empire in which the story takes place, Wesse. One character, Viktor, is a key figure in a revolutionary plot begun by the leader of a religious sect and was sent to the Wessian capital to aid in the aforementioned plot, as he is the most important member of the group. This sect of the heavily suppressed folk religion of the Wessian territory of Patrovia worships their god of the sun, warmth, and peace, and in a ritual a few months prior to the beginning of the story, Viktor was offered as a vessel for the god to carry out his wishes in the human realm. As the god’s vessel, Viktor can communicate with him as well as harness some of his powers. The burden of divinity as a mortal alongside an inability to understand and value himself while being so pressured to do exactly what he is told is key to his struggles throughout the story. Another major character is Antonio, a young war hero who made a name for himself in the previous war, though now struggles to reconcile the horrors he has seen and committed as a soldier with the kindness and optimism which is integral to his character as well as the hope that the world his unborn daughter will be brought up into will be one where she is safe from the death and destruction the Wessian army has brought upon the world of the story. Antonio must choose which side he wants to fight for in the impending revolution: the side he has fought and sacrificed so much for, or the side he knows is morally right. In addition to Antonio and Viktor, Hadrian and Vera are the other two major characters of my story and are two members of the imperial family of Wesse. Hadrian is a satyr married against his will to Vera, the daughter of the emperor at the time, to quell rebellion in the territory he was born in, New Agros. He is quiet, passive, and incredibly isolated from those around him. Any hope of a happier future for him and others in the Empire having been put out years ago. His relationship with his wife is a volatile and unfulfilling one, and his relationship with his teenage nephew, Henrik, is complicated. Though Hadrian loves him like a son, he does not believe Henrik cares for him as much as he does. This is a recurring theme in Hadrian’s life, as he has never felt truly loved or valued. He begins to develop hope for true, mutual love when he meets Viktor, who he quickly develops a romantic attachment to. Viktor, seeing his vulnerability and interest as a way into the upper echelons of the Empire, takes advantage of this, entering a relationship with him. Eventually, Viktor develops feelings for Hadrian in return, though struggles to reconcile them with what he knows he must do. Hadrian is unaware of Viktor’s turmoil or his deceit but is happy to finally have someone who loves him without judgment. Vera, the Empress Regent of Wesse, is suspicious of Viktor from the very beginning but is unable to act as her nephew is about to ascend the throne and is fond of Viktor. Vera has always believed that she was destined to continue in the footsteps of her ancestors, the great kings and, more recently, emperors of Wesse, but has always been barred from what she believes is her birthright. Her nephew, she believes as she did with his father before him, is a malignant presence in her great empire and she must remedy that. So tied up in her ego and belief in her own superiority, Vera will do anything it takes to keep the throne in order to prove herself to all those who have doubted her. Viktor, Antonio, Hadrian, and Vera all must choose whether to join the fight for the death of a soon-to-be-dying empire or stay on the side of the status quo and serve the empire which has ruled all their lives for so long.