Your story is my story.
Fate and friendship brought Horace, Rumi, Keza, and Aliyah together in Rumi’s sentient self-propelling wagon. They seek the forest haunting Aliyah’s dream, hoping for answers about the elf’s past and unique abilities—but first, they need to traverse a world haunted by Fragments, dangerous shards that can possess travellers and react to Aliyah’s presence.
They’ve reached Virze, a marvel of art and engineering and a city in which all acts of creation are beloved. A perfect occasion to explore and rest before the next leg of their journey… except that Rumi desperately wants to avoid his hometown and the demons of his past.
When the Wagon crew realises half of those might be fears of his own making, however, they refuse to leave. But between the curse that ran him out of town and the source of his engineering skills, Rumi has been keeping even more secrets than they’d expected. He’ll need all their support to face the loved ones left behind and prove to all, himself first and foremost, what he is truly capable of.
Representation of note
Horace (e/em): aromantic, asexual, non-binary, ADHD
Aliyah (they/them): aromantic, asexual, non-binary
Rumi (he/him)
: aromantic, asexual
Keza (she/her): cis allo polyamorous lesbian
This series experiments with societal structures that don’t center sexual-romantic pairs or binary genders, which impacts significantly how characters relate to their own queerness.
content notes
Childhood bullying, Panic Attack,
Risk of drowning
Tropes
Found Family
Fantasy Escape Room
OTHER INFORMATION
Genre/Age Category: Adult, Cozy Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Queer Fiction
Publisher: The Kraken Collective
Publication Date: April 9, 2025
Cover Artist: Eva I.
ISBN-13 (paperback): 978-1-7389259-8-8
FAQ
Can I start with this novella?
Only at your own risk. Every novella has a “Previously On” at the start to serve as a refresher, as well as character art and tiny information about their personalities, but those obviously can’t replace having been through the adventure. However, Motes of Inspiration has a somewhat self-contained arc for one of the characters and a chunky fantasy escape room chapter, and I think it can be fun on its own, if less emotionally meaningful.