The Princess And The Tower

• Royal Road

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About

Princess Irena Vaudrin is meant to marry a man she hates, pray to a god she doesn’t believe in, and smile while the court whispers that she’s far too fond of her best friend. Instead, when she refuses, her father signs a decree and has her quietly removed. For the good of the realm, of course. Exiled to an abandoned wizard’s tower on a lonely mountain, Irena is supposed to fade into shameful obscurity. Her only company: Lira, a shy halfling maid torn from her own family to serve the disgraced princess, and the distant, bone-shaking roars of the dragon that keeps them both from escaping. The tower should have been her prison. It turns out to be her education. Behind warded doors and rotten floors, Irena uncovers the remnants of Archmage Thalen’s life’s work: scrolls, sigils, and a buried system of trials reaching deep beneath the mountain. With Lira as her sharp-eyed, stubbornly loyal assistant, Irena begins to teach herself the art her ancestors had forgotten in all but the most faded of tapestries. Spectral lights lead to floating furniture; musical spells lead to secret rooms; alchemical glasswork turns into weapons the crown has never before seen. Outside, the world keeps turning. Each week, a caravan arrives with meagre supplies and a pair of knights to “ensure her safety” – including a sardonic lady-knight whose lazy drawl of “princess” makes Irena’s stomach swoop for entirely un-regal reasons. Rumours of Irena’s supposed sins spread through the ranks. The church and the nobility congratulate themselves on having locked away an inconvenience. They have, unfortunately, locked her in with everything she needs to become the most dangerous wizard of her age. As Irena and Lira delve deeper into the tower’s seven trials, they must decide what kind of power they’re willing to claim, and what kind of world they want to burn down and rebuild when they finally break the wards. Between a hungry dragon, a scheming church, a baron who started this mess, and a very attractive knight standing inconveniently in the middle, one thing is certain: When the princess comes down from the tower, she won’t be the one who needs saving. Written for Royal Road Writathon.

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