callicloudy

"I will become as monstrous as I must."Five hundred years after the Great Freeze, the empire of Britannia stands, untouchable, as the greatest power in the world. The Britannia that emerged from the Freeze is an empire built of iron and ice, of blood and ash and bone. Its rulers govern a strictly-organized society, with each class serving a purpose and kept strictly separated. Daphne Corvus has been raised from a frozen hell to the heights of wealth and power for one purpose alone: to become that which she hates the most in order to bring a cruel empire to its knees. If she succeeds, she will see the sister she's lost again; if she fails, she will die, and her sister will be left to sufferIn order to succeed, she must first infiltrate the school where Britannia turns the children of its most powerful families into its greatest commanders. But the Academy is notoriously competitive, and Daphne is far from the only student who needs to triumph. *This story is my entry for the 2024 Open Novella Contest*…

callicloudy

"Hell is empty and all the devils are here."A dying planet.A fading house.A sacred summons.And a desperate heir.Once a generation, the emperor summons one child of each of the Great Houses to complete a series of challenges. Those who triumph join his inner circle and are rewarded with his favor. For Harlow Corvus, last daughter of a dying House, the summons represent an opportunity to save her House from obsolescence and slow death. But the imperial court is full of treachery and secrets, and Harlow is far from the only competitor with everything to lose, and failure will come at the cost of her world and her house.…

callicloudy

"The opposite of darkness is life, but the opposite of life is not darkness."Everything is changing, and the power structure of the Northern Lands is in flux. Alina Kalinin has defected from Saroviya and delivered her kingdom's secrets into the hands of its enemies, but at the cost of everything she's ever known. Now in the custody of the New Army, her very future is uncertain.After being claimed by a newly discovered Sightstone, Judith Craven's rare power is growing beyond her control, and, as she comes to terms with the secrets of those nearest to her, she finds she has more at stake than ever before. The Specters may have pulled off the most daring heist of their lives, but, as their own secrets come to light, they find themselves pulled into the ever-shifting struggle for power at the heart of the Northern Lands. And, in a forgotten corner of Saroviya, a new power awakens as a young soldier finds a gift long thought lost. As old prophecies, strange new power, and new alliances rise, darkness encroaches on the edges of the world. Everything is changing, and nothing will ever be as it was.…

callicloudy

The kingdoms of Caedland and Saroviya have been at war for centuries, and a darkness has spread across the Northern Lands. In the east, Saroviya has been crippled by fighting on multiple fronts, while Caedland still reels from the murder of its queen's consort and the disappearance of its princess nearly two decades ago. Now, in the war-torn lands between the two kingdoms, a new threat has emerged, an unnatural disease that specifically targets the witches who fight for both kingdoms.In Caedland, a new draft means that young witch Judith Craven must report to the kingdom's capital to join the New Army and begin her training in the military arts. There, however, she soon discovers that her power is not as it seems-and neither is her heritage.Meanwhile, in Saroviya, the king's personal Healer, Alina Kalinin, finds herself sucked into a dangerous political landscape when she is assigned by the leader of the Order of Mages to create a cure for the mysterious new disease that has appeared on her kingdom's border.Even as Judith grapples with awful power and Alina struggles to understand a disease whose origins she soon comes to suspect aren't natural, a group of criminals in the neutral kingdom of Rijkelund set out to steal a sacred artifact from the Saroviyan embassy. But, as they embark on a seemingly-impossible mission, they soon discover that all is not as it may seem, and both Saroviya and Caedland are playing a very different game than it may seem from the outside.…

callicloudy

"There was something inside [her] that wouldn't stop until the whole world was blood."The kingdom of Ostrova has been at war for centuries, and to feed the unending cycle of violence, every year, the day after the New Year, every sixteen-year-old in the realm is conscripted. A notoriously difficult exam called the Proving determines where in the military they will be placed.Norah Tasca is a peasant girl from Ostrova's oldest colony, Navaria. When she passes the Proving with a perfect score, she becomes only one of a handful of commoners ever admitted to the Citadel, the training program for Ostrova's future commanders.But at the Citadel, Norah is an outsider, and all is not as it seems. Those chosen to train there were not chosen for the intellect or their aptitudes, but for something else, something that challenges everything Norah has ever known about the world and the balance of power.…

callicloudy

Ever since the Salem Witch Trials, the existence of witches has been public knowledge. They have been feared, persecuted, needed and revered, but never liked or trusted. For more than three hundred years, there has been an uneasy peace between witches and humans-a peace balanced on the edge of a knife. The witches protect the human world from the dangers that lurk beyond the Veil, and the humans leave the witches alone-mostly.In the sanctuary of the Haven and the Salem Safe Zone, witches are protected, even as the world beyond grows more dangerous. In Salem, their children are educated and their armies train, always ready, for a day is coming when humans and witches will once again be enemies. And now a new threat is rising beyond the Veil.'*Note: this is my story for the 2021 Open Novella Contest.…

callicloudy

After a mysterious apocalyptic event, humanity fled Earth and reached the stars. In an effort to repopulate the human race, a space station the size of a moon was built, and now orbits Earth as its inhabitants wait and pray to one day go home, but, after a century, the network of society that once covered the planet has crumbled into ruin. Now, exactly one hundred years after the original survivors fled Earth, the powers that be have decided to discover whether it is safe to come home. Twenty teenagers, all found to be in perfect health and completely strong, each with a particular set of skills that have been determined to be enough to rebuild and maintain a society, are being sent back, down to the Earth's surface, and, if they can survive a year and a day below, it might just be safe enough for the remnants of humanity to follow them home. Among the unwitting teens are the genius scientist, Rooke, and the fighter, Evan. After her parents broke the law by contacting someone-or something-off the space station, Rooke was taken into the program without knowing why. After making the worst mistake of his life, Evan, too, finds himself paying for his crimes when he, like Rooke, finds himself on a spaceship, hurtling towards Earth, Together, they, and eighteen others, all between the ages of twelve and eighteen, must find a way to survive on an inhospitable, alien planet that should have been their home. But, when it turns out they might not be alone, when bad things start happening, and when secrets come to light, survival might just come at too high a price to pay.#campNaNoWriMo…

callicloudy

The Rangers have been declared obsolete, but the crew of the starship Rogue isn't going to go down without a fight. The crew of the starship Rogue have gone underground, and are rebuilding the Intergalactic Ranger Corps in secret. It's time for the annual War Games, a chance for law enforcement and combat agencies to go up against each other to prove which one is the best, and the War Games are the Rangers' chance to prove that they are the best fighters out there, that they deserve to exist once more. They've saved the galaxy more than once, but now it's not a question of saving others. It's a question of saving themselves.*Sequel to Starship: Rogue*…

callicloudy

For decades, the Robot Wars have raged all across colonized space. But, now, thanks to the actions of the Rangers serving onboard the starship Horizon, the war is finally over. Yet the cost of that final battle has had astronomic consequences on the Horizon's crew. Hero of the battle, Sergeant Rowan, is paying a heavy price for her actions, incapacitated and turned into what she hates most. Still, the time is coming when she'll have to step up to the plate and set aside her anger for the sake of everyone in her squad and on the ship.Medic Carter Roe saw firsthand the destruction of the final battle, and it has instilled in her a determination to put her talents to use. Signing on as the Medical Officer for Rowan's squad, she realizes she might be in over her head, and she's in for a whole lot more than she bargained for. From a desolate industrial planet, factory worker Adlai Fletcher knows that the end of the war doesn't mean an end to violence, and she signs on to the Colonial Network's army. Still, with every branch of law enforcement scrambling to recruit after their losses at war, can she prove that she is worth more than anyone expected and rise above the squalor of her home planet to actually become someone?The war might be over, but the fight never ends.…

callicloudy

A retelling of Charles Perault's fairytale Peau d'Ane, or Donkeyskin.Ten years before the start of our story, a young king married the most beautiful woman in the world. Nine years ago, the princess Elodie was born of their union, a girl small and plain and unassuming. From the day she was born, Elodie has lived in her parents' shadows, not minding, because she's known little else. Nine years, she's been tucked away in her nursery, ignored, forgotten, until one fateful winter.Warning: Because this story does follow the plot of the original story it will contain incestuous themes and sexual harassment/rape. If you are sensitive to these things, I'm sorry and you may want to skim/skip chapters 4-5 (Of Hatred and Of Pain).…

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All across Valoria and its neighboring kingdoms, Queens are rising. In the north, Ella advances, at the side of her husband. In the west, the Westover rebellion is gaining momentum, and Aileanna is at its head. Rose has been spirited away from her northern keep, and those who hold her name her as queen. In King's City, Elizabeth's hold on power is growing more and more unstable. In the south, Grace waits to make her move, but that move will be totally unexpected. In this return to Valoria, each side has made its opening move, and now it's all a matter of waiting to make the perfect move.*Volume 2 in the Queen's Crown series*Volume 1: *Opening* CompletedPrequel: *Conquest* Ongoing…

callicloudy

Valoria, an island kingdom, has had four years to recover from Elizabeth's conquest, but it won't be enough. In the capital, her advisors seem to rule Elizabeth's kingdom for her, disregarding her authority whenever they think it safe. In the south, one who she deposed has appeared, and is lurking just out of reach. Across the Silent Sea, in Akara, a prince and his sister move for action, while in Theoria another princess bides her time. Ambition grows, and lesser players fall. Pawns seize power, and suddenly everything is spiraling out of control.*Volume 1 in the Queen's Crown series**Completed*Sequel: *Passive* OngoingPrequel: *Conquest, volume 1* Ongoing…

callicloudy

Discipline Academy for Outstanding Students prides itself on training the next generation of world leaders. When the school is threatened by a centuries-old enemy, its students must rally together to uncover the nature of the threat to their school, and to the new Queen Victoria.…