Set in a fantasy world inspired by 20th-century China, the story follows Rin, a poor orphan who escapes her difficult life by gaining a place at an elite military academy. There, she discovers her exceptional talent for combat and a dangerous connection to shamanic powers tied to ancient gods. When tensions between rival nations erupt into war, Rin must decide how to utilise her newfound abilities and how far she is willing to go for vengeance, survival and power. The story has the same vibe as The Lord of the Rings, but set in Asia. The imagined world is vividly described, and the characters are complex. I also love the parts about connecting with higher powers. It’s a gripping story.
“When Jiang talked of “gods,” he talked of the eminently natural.
To commune with the gods was to walk the dream world, the world of spirit. It was to relinquish that which she was and be-come one with the fundamental state of things. The space in limbo where matter and actions were not yet determined, the fluctuating darkness where the physical world had not yet been dreamed into existence.
The gods were simply those beings that inhabited that space, forces of creation and destruction, love and hatred, nurturing and neglect, light and dark, cold and warm… they opposed one another and complemented one another; they were fundamental truths.
They were the elements that constituted the universe itself.”