I have a book in the works (reading An Ember in the Ashes and Throne of Glass really makes me want to work on it), working title is Hallows. And it’s about this fantasy world where there are generally regular people like us and then these people called Hallows, and a certain number are born every generation, and they have special powers because they’re anthropomorphic personifications of certain traits of humanity - hope, joy, wonder, fear, etc. Things that have had a major impact on the development of human culture (hope and fear have influenced a great many solar festivals).
So in this world, in some countries Hallows are considered normal people with jobs like how doctors, lawyers, bakers, and butchers are just normal people with jobs. In some countries they’re revered in the same was as oracles and priests. In others, they’re considered royalty. And in some, they’re second class citizens or even enslaved or considered “enemies of the state.”
And my 2 characters - Maya and Sethsis - are each Hallows. Maya is a hope-Hallow and Sethsis is a joy-Hallow. Sethsis is also genderfluid. And the two of them are from different kingdoms - Maya from a kingdom where Hallows are just people, Sethsis where Hallows are treated like royalty - but they’re both kidnapped (Sethsis is disguised as a regular guy just chilling with normal peeps at the time) and sold into slavery to fight in the gladiator pits in one of the other kingdoms. They team up in order to survive until they can fight their way to the final tournament, where they have to survive for a moon in the wilds with other Hallows and soldiers and competitors trying to kill them.
So it’s sort of like The Hunger Games meets Ancient Rome with Egyptian and Yoruban mythology thrown in through the lens of Rise of the Guardians.
But one of my leads is Sethsis, who is genderfluid. I just need a name other than genderfluid for this book because as it has been pointed out to me before, high fantasy novels wouldn’t use the same words we would for things like that.
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