A High Fantasy series by Maren True
Elemental Things Series
Now is the eve of 1,000 years—when myth whispers the wave will rise anew to thresh humanity. High on the slopes of Mount Inferno, fifteen-year-old Solaris spends his days transcribing ancient records—fear pervades everything his ancestors wrote, everything they did, and they had reason.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Chara studies to be a bard, memorizing her people’s oral traditions from millennia past. Both come to the same realization, the history they are tasked with curating is a tale of cyclical assault—and neither of their peoples are ready.
For the enemy’s method of attack is always different—plague, famine, war—and leaning on what worked last time seems like poor strategy. Simply breeding stronger elemental magic, generation upon generation—can’t possibly prove sufficient. Solaris and Chara can see it coming—this time the wave will break the species.
But all is not yet lost, hope hides in them both, concealed in talents and knowledge others disdain. They will join forces to turn the tide and remake themselves and their world in the process.
Igniting Insight
Chara yearns to write her own stories—not memorize archaic lore like her mother. But when a task force of foreign magic wielders kill her parents to eradicate the bardic oral tradition, Chara finds that preservation can be just as defiant as creation. As cities fall attempting to protect their bards, Chara races to learn the rest of her people’s wisdom before it’s lost forever. If she fails to stop the invaders, they will systematically slaughter her people. But she has a plan to fight back—for by combining the fragments of ancient knowledge she’s collected, Chara’s found the key to defeating their magic.
Blaze of Insight
Solaris doesn’t expect to live to adulthood. His mother is the most powerful magic-wielder in the Realm of Fire, but he can’t even light a candle—and that dooms them both. For thousands of years, his people have bred for elemental strength alone. He must prove the power of his bloodline, but he can’t. His mother knows why—but she won’t speak, even as iron chains drag her under the water to drown.
Sometimes a fire just requires the right fuel . . .
Inferno of Insight
Finally aware of the nature of his powers, Solaris discovers the ancient enemy feared by his people is coming for him. Bereft of allies but endowed with a staggering fortune, he must choose a retainer to share his life and watch his back. Someone who can turn the tide in the conflict to come.
Those with great power and influence array themselves to offer their services, but against all expectations Solaris shuns them. Instead, he selects a powerless young girl with nothing to recommend her. But Chara’s capacity for loyalty and ingenuity will shock the realm. Before the evening ends, she’ll free her people, shift the balance between nations, and start a war.
As she clears her slate of obligations, Chara frees herself to write a future no one expected. Exchanging knives and a smile, she and Solaris seal their partnership. The Enemy will need to watch its step.
Genre
The series Elemental Things is an epic fantasy that includes elements of genetics entwined with its magic system. The plot starts out with a heroes journey, morphs into a love story, and then climaxes in apocalypse. With quick escalation, unexpected turns, and characters that defy tropes Elemental Things uses epic scope and deep themes to set expectations and exceed them.
