Book One: Ash
The Axiom of Spiders.pdfGorgeous cover art designed by Helena Nikulina, 2020.
He would not survive at home. There would be some who saw him as blessed, others who saw him as a threat, and others burning with envy. Most would see him as malformed and imperfect, and therefore should not be allowed to live. Still others would try to use him. No matter how they treated him, there were dangers all around. And he wasn’t learned enough to understand them or deal with them.
The dark withdrew like a presence pointing the way. A narrow crevasse cut into the rock wall. A web spun across it.
He turned back toward the statue, mouth opened in shock.
Either you shall fail, and fall into obscurity, or you shall rise.
The merchant house Tith’Rix in Enainsi birthed four generations of eight daughters, and not a single son between them. It was thought that the eighth daughter of four generations would be blessed and bring them into the clergy and nobility.
The birth was an ill portent, for the eighth child was male.
Enainsine culture dictates that male dark elves have nothing, not even their own names.
Aestith’rix had a single syllable, the traditional addition to the family name, taken from a pestilence that was foremost on his mother’s mind. Aestith hoped for little more than escaping his family’s wrath.
Aestith acknowledged that he would never be spectacular with sword or bow, and must find another way to attain the perfection the goddess Lolth desires. But how can he be perfect when his body undergoes a terrifying change he is compelled to hide?
Cut off from the only home he has ever known, Aestith must find a way to survive, but like most dark elves, knows that mere survival is never good enough; he has to thrive.
This novel has a version of it released in a unique original content setting outside Toril. I may release a playable version of that world as a bonus feature for subscribers to my patreon. The original setting was Toril, but I found that in placing Aestith'Rix and the others in this new setting, many features and aspects about the characters changed with the world conditions and dark elves felt unbelievably connected and special to the setting.
You may find the novel here for PDF purchase: Axiom of Spiders: Ash
Or, if you prefer Kindle, that will be coming soon.