PREQUEL TO THE "SHADOWSONG" SERIES It takes more than just a transformation to make a Luminary. After the accident that led to her seizures and her sister's estrangement, no one expects anything special from Olivia Lydiasdaughter. Treated as fragile and breakable by those around her, it's not uncommon for her to break the rules--just to prove that she can. Jason Nicolaisson lives his life in the shadow of his parents, waiting for the next blow. Every word and action is about survival. He loses himself in his music and among the smell of flowers, but with every day that slips by, he's beginning to wonder if it's worth holding on. With only a few days before they'll select the Aspect for their Chosen name, the only thing these two civilians have in common is that they're both on a crash course for two very different disasters. That is, of course, unless one decision and a Manifested can change their paths forever. *+*+*+*

For the last four weeks, the fate of the City rested in the hands of two seventeen year olds who have no idea they're best friends. Olivia Shadowheart and Jason Frostsong saved the City from being conquered by the Other, if only barely. As both their civilian selves and as Banshee and Cryophoenix, they pulled together and overcame Starsong's challenge, earning their amulets that will allow them to trust one soul with their true identity. If you ask them, they'd say they deserve a break. But with a complicated relationship developing between them, a new Luminary pair to train, and the old darkness locked away beneath the City beginning to pull free, their fight has only just begun. Only a set of ancient secrets and discovering the truth of what ended the first civilisation so many millennia ago will allow them to save both the city and the people they care about. They have one chance to learn the name of their partner. The question is: will they even want to? [Updates every Wednesday (Australian time)]

Almost a year ago, Olivia Shadowheart and Jason Frostsong had to figure out how to protect a city from its own possessed citizens without anyone knowing they'd had anything to do with it. They are Banshee and Cryophoenix--two of six Luminaries that save the Manifested from themselves when the Other takes their minds and turns them into twisted monsters bent on revenge. But like all Luminaries, Banshee and Cryo's true identities are a secret, even from each other. As the newest Luminary pair, not much is expected of them except to learn and train for their eventual responsibility in a few years but Banshee's got ambition. She's determined to be more than Olivia ever could, and with Cryo by her side, they find themselves in the middle of a battle they aren't ready for. Their lives, both civilian and Luminary, are about to collide. The question is whether they can learn to trust each other--both with and without the transformations--or if the Other's growing power will claim more than just their secrets. *+*+*+* [ Both books are in this work. Book 1 is chapter 1-38, book 2 continues straight after] [ NaNoWriMo16 & 17] *+*+*+* Cover by @Prisim