2020-10-25 21:08
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description
<p>"Cook like your life depends on it. Because it does."</p> <p>In a single tragic day, everything the apprentice-chef Charles used to know has been lost to him. His home, reduced to ashes. The fate of his loved ones, unknown. He is wounded, starving, and alone in the desolate wilderness with little more than his stockpot and chef knives to his name.</p> <p>When a sudden raid on his hometown throws his world into chaos, Charles is charged with protecting his family's priceless treasure, a recipe book passed down through countless generations. But his simple mission to deliver it from harm quickly unravels when he's captured by one of the most feared battalions in the world, the Spears of Mercy. Life as a prisoner in their war camp is brutal and uncertain. Charles has few allies and even fewer strengths to rely on. Only his skills in the culinary arts, honed over a lifetime spent in the kitchen, are deemed useful enough to keep him alive another day. Each new dawn becomes a trial for survival as the battalion's path of violence carries the fifteen year-old far from the quiet country of his youth, toward the very heart of an empire and the corrupt tyrant who sits its throne. As a chef for the imperial family, he'll brave the deadly intrigue of the courts, encounter bold revolutionaries, and uncover a conspiracy that could bring the greatest war in history to a climactic end.</p> <p>This project is a food-themed fantasy that centers on cooking and chefs. The setting spans a wide world featuring ingredients/recipes both real and inspired by traditional fantasy. I'll eventually be publishing it as a full-length novel. These are the first draft chapters. I'll likely be re-writing more than once, then editing before publishing, so impressions and feedback are quite welcome. If you like the story so far and you're interested in being an early reviewer for the final product, feel free to message me. If outlining goes well, I can usually have a chapter ready in about two weeks. Sadly, I cannot guarantee that. I'd rather deliver readers quality over quantity.</p> <p>I'm also looking for an artist to make some concept art and a cover (the cover shown here is just a temporary placeholder). A stand-alone novel for now, but it may turn into a series down the road.</p>
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