Chronicles of Nerezia

Fate and friendship brought Horace, Rumi, Keza, and Aliyah together in Rumi's sentient self-propelling wagon. They seek the forest haunting Aliyah's dream, hoping for answers about the elf's past and unique abilitiesbut first, they need to traverse a world haunted by Fragments, dangerous shards that can possess travellers and react to Aliyah's presence.When the Archivistsa mysterious organization that has trailed the crew from the very startcapture everyone but Aliyah, however, their journey grinds to a halt. Still reeling from revelations about themselves, Aliyah must infiltrate the Archivists' base to rescue their group. The place is half ruined city, half magical wondera labyrinth to navigate which will require the help of two unlikely allies: Fragment motes from past citizens willing to guide Aliyah.To confront the Archivists is to uncover more of the inextricable truths between Aliyah and the Fragments. With every new revelation, the fractures in the Wagon crew's cohesion and Aliyah's determination widen. Before they can travel onward, they will need to find the strength to bear the weight of their ruined history.-----Ruined History is the sixth of a series of fantasy adventure novellas wrapping the high stakes of epic fantasy in the warmth of quieter gaming scenes, all imbued with an aspec-focused queernormative world and strong platonic bonds.

Fate and friendship brought Horace, Rumi, Keza, and Aliyah together in Rumi's sentient self-propelling wagon. Their travels across a world haunted by Fragments, dangerous shards that can possess travellers, has brought many answers about Aliyah's past, her strange abilities, and the Fragments themselves.Only one obstacle remains between them and the forest of Aliyah's dreams: a cursed marsh filled with ever-shifting terrain and thick Fragment storms. When Keza spots the sacred flowers of her people, however, she drags Horace deep into the marsh, to a crumbled monastery. Nothing is left of its previous inhabitants but the angry Fragmented remains of an Inae Earth Master.The master is desperate to pass on their knowledge, a technique far different from Keza's water dance, but in order to do so, they require a body to possess and a worthy heir. Horace provides a perfect host, but Keza-abrasive, uncouth, and exiled from her own clan-is far from the ideal student. Sparks fly between mentor and pupil, and Keza will need to rein in her natural snark if she wants to free her friend and inherit her people's lost traditions. Claudie Arseneault is an easily-enthused aromantic and asexual writer with a never-ending cycle of obsessions but an enduring love for all things cephalopod and fantasy (together or not!). She writes stories that centre platonic relationships and loves large casts and single-city settings, the most notable of which are the City of Spires series (2017-2023) and Baker Thief (2018).In addition to her own fiction, Claudie has co-edited Common Bonds (2021), an anthology of aromantic speculative short stories. She is a founding member of The Kraken Collective, an alliance of self-publishing SFF authors, and the creator of the Aromantic and Asexual Characters Database.