i don’t know how best to add notes here (I’m writing on a tablet), but I admire the way you’re weaving mythos into this story. It’s very deep and enriching. I’ve always wanted to write tales weaving together myths and their dark underbellies, but I think my writing style is too quiet and soft for that.

As for the story - I like the intrigues and stakes you’re already setting up. Did you outline this before writing? It’s complex in the best way. I love the way you introduce characters through this lens that everyone is gray and there are no black and white dichotomies here. Very fascinating. The Grand Maester himself has shades of villainy, but you also get the sense that he’s working from his own set of moral codes and what he believes is right.

I know you probably want to aim for GRR Martin or Brandon Sanderson heights, but your story so far reminds me of the richness and complexity of The Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. They’re books aimed at a younger audience, true, but the world building is rich and complex and vibrant. With a different writing style, it probably could have been one of those fantasy series getting a big budget adaptation of some kind. Alas, not so.

Anyway, I’m so excited to read more! You truly know what you’re doing. Thanks for being an inspiration for me to be more bold and daring with my own fantasy attempts. Someday, I hope!