u/Phantomhill

Hello!

Fingers crossed.

-

WORDBOUND is a 112,000-word adult high fantasy novel inspired by the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus. As a standalone novel with series potential, WORDBOUND blends the normalized queerness of Martha Wells’ Witch King with the competition structure of James Islington’s The Will of the Many and the emotional heart of Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor.

Kiris Avkonin didn’t mean to kill his guardian, Prince Thaav. It was a Prophecy—the capitalized, reality-creating kind—but Kiris isn’t like the previous Prophets. He’s no principality-uniting divine leader; he’s a con-artist who can’t control his unalterable futures, even when they cause an empire’s invasion. He certainly can’t muster the courage to tell Thaav his real name.

With a month before Thaav’s Prophesied poisoning, Kiris learns Thaav is being forced to participate in the invading empire’s Competition of Princes. It’s Kiris’ last chance to confess he’s the Prophet who heard their death. Kiris enters the Competition disguised as a prince to reach Thaav, distancing himself from the royalty competing for the empress’ armies. Then he discovers the empress knows a magic which resurrects the dead.

With resurrection magic, Kiris can save Thaav after they die. He’d never need to tell them he’s the Prophet. Allying with a legitimate prince is Kiris’ key to surviving Competition long enough to master resurrection—except Kiris’ self-proclaimed “friend” has a way of wriggling under his princely mask. Kiris cannot let his real name be known—by Thaav or by his not-friend—but his volatile magic wounds him with every practice resurrection, and where Thaav is carefully oblivious, Kiris’ friend is not. Kiris’ friend is a man of justice. Kiris’ friend has sworn to execute Prophet Kiris Avkonin for causing the empire’s invasion.

May the best prince live.

Heyo,

Fingers crossed.

As always, thanks!

-

WORDBOUND is a 112,000-word adult high fantasy novel inspired by the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus. As a standalone novel with series potential, WORDBOUND blends the normalized queerness of Martha Wells’ Witch King with the competition structure of James Islington’s The Will of the Many and the emotional heart of Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor.

Kiris Avkonin didn’t mean to kill his guardian, Prince Thaav. It was a Prophecy—the capitalized, reality-creating kind—but Kiris isn’t like the previous Prophets. He’s no principality-uniting divine leader; he’s a con-artist who can’t control his unalterable futures, even when they cause an empire’s invasion. He certainly can’t muster the courage to tell Thaav his real name.

With a month before Thaav’s Prophesied poisoning, Kiris learns Thaav is being forced to participate in the invading empire’s Competition of Princes. It’s Kiris’ last chance to confess he’s the Prophet who heard their death. Kiris enters the Competition disguised as a prince to reach Thaav, distancing himself from the royalty competing for the empress’ armies. Then he discovers the empress knows a magic which resurrects the dead.

With resurrection magic, Kiris can save Thaav after they die. He’d never need to tell them he’s the Prophet. Allying with a legitimate prince is Kiris’ key to surviving Competition long enough to master resurrection—except Kiris’ self-proclaimed “friend” has a way of wriggling under his princely mask. Kiris cannot let his real name be known—by Thaav or by his not-friend—but his godly magic wounds him with every practiced resurrection, and where Thaav is carefully oblivious, Kiris’ friend is not. Kiris’ friend is a man of justice. Kiris’ friend has sworn to execute Prophet Kiris Avkonin for causing the empire's invasion.

May the best prince live.

Hello again! The empress no longer controls the query.

Thank you for your help with all of this.

-

WORDBOUND is a 112,000-word adult high fantasy novel inspired by the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus. As a standalone novel with series potential, WORDBOUND blends the normalized queerness of Martha Wells' Witch King with the competition structure of James Islington's The Will of the Many and the emotional heart of Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor.

Kiris Avkonin didn't mean to kill his parent-figure, Prince Thaav. It was Prophecy—the capitalized, reality-creating kind—and Kiris isn't like the previous Prophets. He isn't a fate-commanding divine leader; he's a con-artist who can't control his magic, much less find the courage to tell Thaav his real name.

With a month before Thaav's Prophesized death, Kiris learns Thaav is being made to participate in the invading empire's Competition of Princes. It's Kiris' last chance to confess that he's the Prophet who caused their murder. Kiris disguises himself as a prince and enters the Competition to reach Thaav, hoping to avoid attracting the attention of the backstabbing princes vying for the empress' favor. When the empress declares whoever brings her Prophet Avkonin will win her favor without enduring her cutthroat trials—and Kiris discovers the empress has been using resurrection magic to try to revive her beloved wife—he shreds his confession plans.

If Kiris can master the empress' magic, he can save Thaav after they die. They'd never need to know he's the Prophet. But when Kiris' studies into resurrection hinder his ability to mask his magic, a rival prince who dares call him friend begins questioning Kiris' identity. With every day of practice, Kiris' godly magic becomes more volatile and the prince's camaraderie and suspicions deepen. Kiris' best chance to outwit his not-friend and outlive Thaav is by becoming his princely identity—with all the trials it entails.

May the best prince live.

Hello again!

Hopefully this clarifies what needed clarifying, and also doesn't muddle the waters with density.

-

Dear (agent),

WORDBOUND is a 112,000-word adult high fantasy novel inspired by the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus. A standalone novel with series potential, WORDBOUND blends the normalized queerness of Martha Wells’ Witch King with the competition structure of James Islington’s The Will of the Many and the emotional heart of Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor.

Prophecy creates reality, and Kiris Avkonin is the Prophet. He’s also a con-artist. When he accidentally prophesizes the death of Thaav, his parent-figure, it’s Kiris’ fault that Thaav will be poisoned at the end of the month. Thaav lives on the other side of a dozen squabbling principalities and an invading empire, but by disguising himself as a minor prince, Kiris hopes to reach Thaav before they die. He’ll do anything for their forgiveness. He murdered them.

Kiris’ royal disguise works great: he’s blackmailed, adopted by a real prince, and sacrificed to the court of the invading empire. The empress is staging a competition to determine which prince will collect her taxes and receive the backing of her army. When she declares that the prince who delivers Prophet Avkonin to her needs not endure the competition’s cutthroat trials, Kiris’ disguise turns from trap to lifeline.

With drugs and shackles, the empress will be able to manipulate Kiris’ fate-creating prophecies to make her colonization inevitable. Kiris has never been able to suppress his volatile magic for longer than a month; his disguise will fail, and he’s already attracted the suspicion of a rival prince. He needs to flee. But Thaav—Prince Thaav—is competing. If Kiris can survive the competition long enough to determine who will poison them—if he can make an antidote that will work immediately after their death—his prophecy will be fulfilled and undone. He won’t need Thaav’s forgiveness.

Thaav will never need to know he killed them.

I am a (short bio).

Hi, all! First time posting over here. Thank you for taking a look at this. The previous query I was working with wasn't getting the response rate I was looking for, so hopefully a completely new version is the move.

-

Dear (agent),

WORDBOUND is a 112,000-word adult high fantasy novel inspired by the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus. Standalone with series potential, WORDBOUND blends the normalized queerness of Martha Wells’ Witch King with the competition structure of James Islington’s The Will of the Many and the emotional heart of Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor.

Prophecy creates reality, and Kiris is the Prophet. He’s also a con-artist. When he foresees the death of Thaav, his parent-figure, he’ll do anything to beg forgiveness before his prophecy kills them. Thaav is located across a dozen squabbling principalities and an invading empire, but disguised as a minor prince, Kiris hopes to traverse the region unchallenged.

Kiris’ royal disguise works great: he’s blackmailed, adopted, and sacrificed to the invading empire’s court as a childless prince’s heir. The empire has declared a competition to determine which of the princes will collect the empress’ taxes; the empress has vowed automatic victory to whoever bows Prophet Kiris before her.

If the empress discovers Kiris, she’ll use his prophecies to make her colonization inevitable. Kiris should flee. But Thaav—Prince Thaav—is competing, and Kiris now has weeks instead of days before they die. By allying with the cutthroat princes, suppressing his volatile prophecies long enough to fake normal, and bartering for the empire’s demon-summoning resurrection magic, he’ll be able to fix his prophecy. He won’t need Thaav’s forgiveness.

Thaav will never need to know he killed them.

I am a (bio).

Thank you for your consideration,