Prologue
Sixteen years ago, my mother fought for everything. She ruined an empire that had stood over her for eleven long years. They took everything from her when she was only six years old; her family, her friends, her freedom, her hope-- but most importantly, they took her identity. They stole her name away and forced her to be a simple orphan girl. A Princess of Ashes.
They kept her alive purely for their enjoyment, and to squash anyone's ideas of rebellion. If a rebellion were to occur, they would publically whip her until her back was nothing more than a tattered, torn, and ugly mess. All these years later, however, she wears the scars with pride as she sits atop her obsidian throne, the crown of her mother, her grandmother, great-grandmother, and so many more ancestors resting upon her head.
She is the first queen to ever be blessed by the gods. They called her the Queen of Flame and Fury, though now she the Ember Queen. She will stop at nothing to keep our kingdom the peaceful, safe place that it needs to be. And I intend to help her in any way I can.
I am Reidar Blaise Houzzara, and I am the bastard prince of Astrea.
