Introduction to the world of The Vampire Court

Short book synopsis Annelise's aunt is planning a rebellion against the French king. Unfortunately, he hears about it and attempt to capture the family. The aunt escapes, but Annelise does not. Rather than have her executed, the king decides to take her as his apprentice and to dangle her in front of all of his enemies. Annelise has to make her place at court, learn all magical secrets she can, and untangle the political webs surrounding her before they close in and suffocate her.

Meta

Genre

Romantic High Fantasy.

Location

An alternative modern France with magic.

Unique selling point

Explore a world where powerful blood magic has triggered deep inequalities and conflicts and where whether someone has access to them determine their fate.

The world

Humans have invented a powerful blood magic that can grant immortality to those who wield it. However, not so many have the potential—or the knowledge—to do so. Those "vampires" are at the head of governments all over the world, ruling over mages and plain humans. Depending on the country in question, the mages and plain humans can be completely subjugated or treated as more—but never complete—equals.
In France, the country is ruled by three councils, a vampire one, a mage one, and a human one. Nevertheless, the king is always a vampire, as is his government and his court, and it is obvious to everyone who yield the true power.

The French king

Kings are elected in France. The current king is considered young for a vampire, not having yet reached his fist century. Yet he took control of the kingdom after a bloody civil wars between vampire factions fighting for power, and since then he has controlled it with an iron fist. He is tolerant enough of the different of mages and humans and is even the one who offered them their own parlements. This allows him to play them against each other and to weaken his opposition among the vampires.
He loves to study magic and invent new spells and rituals just as much as he loves his little political games and manipulations. As someone as powerful and old as he is, he likes to indulge all of his ideas and anything that might bring him some amusement, such as kidnapping his enemy niece and parading her in front of his court as his apprentice.

Main character

Annelise is the niece of an important politician of the mage faction. Annelise was unaware of the details of her aunt politics and is bitter at having been kept in ignorance despite the dangers her aunt brought upon their family.
Before being kidnapped by the king, she was working for her family's company as a crafter of delicate magical artefact, and she likes to innovate with magic and attempt new things. While she finds the opportunity of learning vampiric secrets amazing, she is not happy at all at being dragged into politics, let alone such deadly ones!

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