Young Immortals

Calen and Emma Ward aren't expecting the end of the world to interrupt the saddest birthday celebration they've ever shared.

They know the planet hasn't been this close to armageddon since a decade ago, but that was true about the incident last year. And four months ago. And two months ago.

This is just one more close call for the world before cooler heads prevail again. One last dance across the line, so that the skies are clear enough for the lunar colonies to make a real dent in global resource shortages.

Right?

Their skies light up before the birthday candle.

On Avarea, Mirri is preoccupied with juggling the realities of being a priestess of Mercy and a Warden's daughter, neither one of them enough protection from the fear of neighboring human tribesmen. A horrific victory in the arenas last summer made her a Young Immortal in truth, earning her a title she hates and scars to match. The political alliance she intended to pursue last year won't keep if she stays silent, and her cousin Viran needs tutoring in the arts of magic before his own Proving match.

The circling wolves have never been more ready to tear the both of them limb from limb.

Now, the world is done letting her hide. On the Welcoming Night, when the whole world watches the stars for Mercy's Comet, she receives dreadful news:

This year, the gifts from the sky are going to be humans. Not just a small enclave, landing somewhere discrete. Millions of them, perhaps tens of millions, scattered across the planet.

Including in her home.

Thrust together by magic, circumstance, and a whole host of common enemies, all four of them must face their second chances at life on a turbulent world full of warring Immortals together, or find annihilation, because no one can face the world alone.

Numbers always tell.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

-Four distinct POVs, each with their own at-least-partially rational view of things.

-A morally grey fantasy world that is nonetheless full of heroes and villains fighting about who is who.

-Magic that follows rules and has limits, but no LitRPG or System Menu of any kind. We're cheating a little at classical mechanics and messing with systems of energy transfer, not rewriting the nature of physics.

-Grounded, tactical fantasy combat. Weather and time of day matter, as does the high ground, equipment, and your footing. Magical healing exists, but dead is dead. Wear a helmet.

-Graphic violence, including dismemberment and occasional gore. Intense descriptions of pain, peril, politics, fear, grief, and other debilitating consequences of an 'adventurer's lifestyle' in a fantasy world.

-Monsters, and characters who might occasionally contemplate what that word means.

-You might not know how to swing a sword properly, but you'll understand the principles by the time the characters learn, if you follow along. If you already know how to swing a sword properly, see if you can spot some of the common beginner's mistakes as the characters encounter them!

-Slow burn, whether that's about romance, power progression, or worldbuilding. Yes, romance does feature. No, there will not be any harems.