Discordant Note: Crescendo | TBATE

Toren Daen entered the Central Cathedral feeling hope, ready to challenge the High Vicar and prove his soul.

He left it broken, his wings sundered and torn.

But Toren has a spark; an ember of fire left in his heart that the people around him strive to rekindle. And if Fate is kind, he may just rise from this defeat like the ghostly phoenix bound to his soul.

Toren knows he can help the world he has found himself in. Now, the only task is to flap the butterfly's wings-because Toren hopes to change the outcome of the Dicathian war.

But it will not be so simple. The Scythes loom about him like the blades of executioners, always watching and waiting. The twisted politics of Alacrya have sunk their claws deep into Toren's soul, and though he may set foot on another continent with the hopes of giving the Dicathians a chance, those he cares for will always chain his heart. Arthur Leywin, twin Anchor for the Legacy, will not bend to the change Toren heralds so easily. Seris Vritra has plans of her own for Toren as they enter the war in Darv, and there is no telling if his desires fit anywhere within her schemes. The Hearth looms as a beacon of hope: if Toren lives long enough to make it there.

And behind it all, two gods play a game of chess: and they both have a question on their minds as the war of lessers reaches a crescendo.

How many times can a phoenix die before it will no longer rise from the ashes?

(Part 2/3 of Discordant Note)
(Part 1: Discordant Note | TBATE)
(Part 3: Discordant Note: Requiem | TBATE)

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(Cover art commissioned by @_aphora_)