Introducing the Prequel Trilogy to the Birthright of Scars duology. Adult Science Fiction Fantasy with a romantic subplot. Three full length novels tell Mored and Alta’s story surrounding the origins of the Tourmaline Renegade and expand on the world and cultural/political conflicts of Birthright of Scars.
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Trilogy Overview
The commandant of a prison and steel mill seeks revenge against the man who betrayed him in a move for power and a corrupt senate working to exterminate the empire’s indigenous population until one of his native, female prisoners threatens his empire-toppling scheme in her attempts at gaining back her freedom.
With the help of two elite operatives who are disgruntled by their government’s warmongering, he works to assassinate, demote, and replace corrupt leaders before the conflict escalates into genocide.
When the shrewd and mysterious female prisoner discovers his secret identity and determines to bring him down in exchange for her freedom, he realizes he’s strangely attached, and must find a way to silence her without taking her life.
Romantic Subplot Tropes:
Forbidden West Wing from Beauty & the Beast
Age Gap
Forced Proximity
Mafia/Billionaire/Dark Romance vibe
First in Trilogy
A young woman from the Reindeer tribe finds herself wrongfully imprisoned and forced to labor at one of the empire’s largest steel mills.
Death is certain at Cyrgystakni and the only way out is through the heart of the forge. By the end of her first day, Alta learns that she has caught the eye of the prison’s chief warden, Commandant Troek.
Undeterred, Alta teams up with a thief, and a group of courageous women to devise a way to bring down the forge and escape, but her efforts only earn her Troek’s undivided attention and shackle her to the monster she’s trying to destroy.
Commandant Mored Troek is stuck running a prison after losing a political race, scapegoated for corruption because he lobbied for Pyron rights. He dons the mask of the Tourmaline Renegade by night to exact revenge and mayhem on the corrupt plutocrats and politicians who oppress Pyron.
When the orders for genocide cross Mored’s desk, he is compelled to do something about the woman who threatens to bring down the forge and empire upon his head.
Drafting
Editing
Formatting & Interior Design
Second in Trilogy
Alta has discovered the Tourmaline Renegade’s identity, learning he’s a traitor to the empire and that he’s working to smuggle Pyrons across the border. But she doesn’t trust the man behind the mask for remaining her captor. She wants her freedom and she’ll take it with the first opportunity that comes her way.
Then her captor offers her a chance to walk away with what she knows, and if she fails the test, she must agree to stay in his care forever. With her friend’s lives and the future of her people hanging in the balance, Alta might willingly surrender her freedom, but she’ll never give him her heart.
Romantic Subplot Tropes:
Forced Proximity
Hurt/Comfort
Resisting the Power Imbalance
Drafting
Editing
Formatting & Interior Design
The Tourmaline Renegade and his men face impossible odds as they fight the state massacres of Pyron refugee camps. When betrayal costs Mored the lives of those he loves, he’s driven mad for revenge.
A critical injury renders him helpless and in the hands of a woman he thought he’d never see again. And when he’s put through the flames of the forge of fate, he risks being remolded into a monster Alta can never love.
In development.
40K words have been written as of May 2025.
Drafting
Editing
Formatting & Interior Design
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Additional Fun Facts
This trilogy’s primary setting is a steel mill/prison complex known as Cyrgystakni.
Alta’s hair turns white midway through the trilogy from an illness.
This story takes place 17 to 15 years prior to the opening of “Birthright of Scars.” Disrel would be between the ages of 7 and 9.
