In a quiet corner of the hill country, life goes on as it always has: harvests, petty gossip, and quiet routine. But Before the Violet Tide opens onto something much larger. The Divine Friction is set in the fracturing realm of Ireen, where faith, power, and a dying world grind against each other. Here is a little of what lies beyond the hills.
Places
Ireen. Both a continent and a realm, the Ireen Empire. Its world is called Yaron.
Hondim. The capital city, the realm's seat, and the throne all share one name: the Hondim Throne. Under King Sully, Ireen has known nearly seventy years without major conflict.
Mer. Across the water lies the other great continent, which gives its name to the sea and to the Gulf of Mer. Mer is split north and south: two realms, two kings, forever bickering.
Peoples
The Great Houses. Noble houses hold Ireen's lands under the throne. House Lasolt flies a gold-and-crimson lion over the vast Strodrid; House Gats bears the stag; House Kor, far to the south, bears the owl and stands allied with the Crown.
The Brow-Tines. A special force tied to House Gats. Few outside their ranks know what they truly do, and they prefer it that way.
The faery folk. The Aos Sí are human-sized, cloaked in glamour, and keenly sensitive to danger. Their magic may not follow the rules humans take for granted.
Faith & Power
Magic as a loan. Ask any master on Yaron and you'll hear the same lesson: every casting borrows, and the loan is repaid in blood and bone. Whether that law holds everywhere is another question.
The Nivarian Academy. The Academy stands in Hondim. It tests children at twelve and sets each one on a single path, sword or Magi, with no crossing between them.
The Four Friends
Marcus has never been normal. His mind goes blank and his body moves without him, and no one can explain why.
Nesa, eighteen, is thoughtful and kind behind round scholar's glasses and a tumble of dark curls.
Russ, half-dwarf, is fiercely loyal, the family's solid anchor.
Pelton, twenty-two, is blonde and sharp-featured, the tallest of the four.
All four are apprentices to Saurael, a patient, secretive old master. As a vast shadow rises at the edge of the realm, four friends are pulled into a world of thrones, academies, and old faith.