Ascension (Markavian)

Ascension: Before Stars Some spirals lead inward. Others reshape the world. Highspire Academy trains only the brightest minds-but not all magic is taught in the classroom. When fourteen-year-old Helena discovers a glyph she never shared, copied in the handwriting of a boy she's never met, a quiet mystery begins to unfold. Their shared secret leads to something far more tragic: a recursive spiral hidden beneath the school, looping not only by spellwork, but through memory and time itself. As seasons turn and friendships deepen, Helena and Aurelian find themselves at the heart of a mythical invention-one that could change the foundations of knowledge. Or trap them forever. Told across three deeply personal stories, Ascension: Before Stars is a richly woven, lyrical fantasy about invention, intimacy, and the magic of remembering who we are-even after we forget. For thoughtful readers who love soft magic, speculative fantasy, and stories that echo long after the final page. Book I · Lyrical Fantasy Visit https://jmarkavian.com - for digital editions and more Published by mkv25.net/books Ages 15+, YA, Lyrical Fantasy Copyright © 2025 J. Markavian

Ascension: The Hidden Empire Not all empires are built with armies. Some are built with jam, cocktails, and better infrastructure. Helena and Aurelian are Highspire Academy students on holiday-at least, that's what Valecourt is meant to believe. When they arrive in the sun-warmed harbour town, they carry knowledge, magic, and patience far beyond their years. They are not here to conquer. They are here to build. What begins as a handful of businesses and civic improvements quietly becomes something unprecedented: a hidden nation nested inside the city itself. Wages rise. Communities knit closer. Magic hums beneath cobblestones and kitchen hearths alike. People flourish-and cannot quite explain why. Someone always notices. As patterns emerge, intelligence services grow uneasy. Bank clerks trace impossible flows of money. A wounded soldier discovers a future he did not expect. Dockhands, merchants, and spies alike are drawn into an expanding orbit of influence that no one can quite name-let alone control. Helena and Aurelian know how empires fall. They know how history ends. Their greatest enemy is not discovery, nor politics, nor war-but time itself, which cannot be bargained with, only delayed. Ascension: The Hidden Empire is a lyrical fantasy set in the Kingdom of Wynnal-a story about power exercised through kindness, identity worn as a deliberate costume, and the unsettling question of what to build when death is not defeated-only postponed. For readers who love intricate worldbuilding, quiet authority, and stories where the most dangerous weapon is a well-placed jam jar. Book II · Lyrical Fantasy Visit https://jmarkavian.com - for digital editions and more Published by mkv25.net/books Ages 15+, YA, Lyrical Fantasy Copyright © 2026 J. Markavian