Tomorrow’s the day I’ve been looking forward to sharing — you’ll finally meet Merkaia from The Dragon Kings of Broken Light.
I built her POV knowing something she doesn’t: that everything she believes about herself is wrong, and it’s not her fault. She was raised to think her strange, glowing markings were an affliction. She wasn’t allowed to go to school with the other kids. Every year of that sheltering became more proof, in her own mind, that something was broken about her.
None of it was true. It was never a flaw. She just doesn’t know that yet.
I think about that a lot, actually — how much of what we believe about ourselves was handed to us instead of chosen by us. Merkaia’s story starts there, long before she learns any of it was orchestrated to protect her, and long before she has any idea what she’s actually capable of.
For hundreds of years, the crystals have sung of her return. She has no idea why she looks different. That’s where we’re starting.
If you’d like to read it in context: Paperback and Kindle — free with Kindle Unlimited.
See the character videos as they go up: Meet the Characters on my website
