Before the prophecy, before the trials, before questions about traditions and histories much older than she is, there is simply Zamaria Zephyr.
Seventeen years old.
Curious.
Surrounded by books.
And about to learn that being surrounded by knowledge is not the same thing as knowing the truth.
Growing Up Zephyr
Books are not unusual in Zamaria's life.
Her family and Zephyr's Books & Curiosities have made certain of that.
She has grown up around shelves containing stories, histories, theories, magical texts, and things considerably harder to categorize.
That environment has given her something important.
Questions.
Zamaria is not interesting to me because she enters her story already possessing every answer.
She doesn't.
What interests me is what she does when the answers she receives do not fit neatly together.
The Star-Mark
Then there is the Star-Mark.
Its appearance is not simply another piece of magic for Zamaria to learn.
It raises questions about who she is, what came before her, and why different magical traditions have reasons to care about what the mark represents.
Some people see boundaries.
Some see rules.
Some see history.
Zamaria begins to see connections.
What those connections mean is something I would rather let you discover with her.
Creating Zamaria
When I write a protagonist, I want there to be room for uncertainty.
Room to make the wrong choice.
Room to question people who may know more.
Room to question people who merely believe they know more.
And room to become someone different from the person who began on page one.
Zamaria's story is surrounded by magic, but the questions underneath it are deeply human.
How much of who we become is inherited?
How much is chosen?
And what happens when the path everyone expects you to take is not the only path available?
You will meet Zamaria properly in October.
Until then, consider this an introduction.