Blood Over Honor

((EDITING IN PROGRESS))
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In a world where the gods rule, even Ascyria, a nation known for its brutal female warriors- the Amazons, are subject to obey. Devoted to their Goddess, Ascyria tolerates no sedition towards the divine. Those who disobey and their children become Tainted, outcasts to society, abhorred by the Gods.

Gradia is one of the Tainted and having inherited her mother's crimes, lives with the disadvantages and hate reserved for her kind. Still, she is one of the luckier ones. After being taken in as a ward to the Grand General of Aphons, she grows desperate to prove she is separate from her mother's heresy and earn her place in Ascyria. But when the Goddess herself gives her a vision of a formidable future, it obstructs everything Gradia has ever known. Horrified and reluctant, Gradia thinks it must be a trick from the gods and seeks out her only true companion for help, despite their dangerous romance that could condemn them both.

For Phyllipa, a zealous and pious young warrior, the pressure has been racking up as an Era of Peace threatens to end and old enemies emerge for war. It is her duty to the Goddess to fight as an Amazon, but her loyalties are torn between the enlistment lists and Gradia, despite knowing Gradia can tarnish her by association. But when Gradia turns to her, proclaiming the Goddess gave her a vision, naming Gradia a prophet, how can Phyllipa say no? As a misinterpretation of the message leads to disaster, the girls must part ways: Phyllipa, to glory, and Gradia, to repentance. Yet, they discover their distance is not the end of their ties. As a mixture of longing and resentment festers, they learn the Ascyrian Walls cannot withstand enemies forever, even the Amazons are fallible, and the Gods will not be ignored.