A bookworm risks everything to defend his homeland against an invasion of magitech wizards, only to discover that he is a true master of magic and their fuel-hungry spells come from corrupted derivatives of forgotten wisdom.
Oag would rather hunker among books than squire for arsehole knights like his brother. If only he could join the enemy incursion. Not only is the Gnosortium ruled by literate people–they’re wizards. They are the ultimate scholars.
Instead of inviting him to join them, the Gnosortium abducts Oag’s sisters and tries to murder him. Oag reacts with solo magic experimentation. When he proves able to invent his own spells, defying death hexes thrown from enemy wizards, enchanting shields, and dueling sorceresses, his king seeks him out. He’s becoming a national treasure.
Can Oag best wizards who want to slay him for bonus points? Will his allergies to horses, bread, and ale be a problem on the road? What about his dislike of peasants and mobs? Because the only way Oag can rescue marriageable queens and protect his own bodyguards will be though constant self-teaching and surviving solo magical experimentation.
Despite the flood of marriage proposals and assassination attempts and hangers on, Oag is singular. He seeks scholars. Not false scholar kings, not stupid wizards like those archmages he killed, but someone he can actually learn from.
Oag will trek across airless mountains and lead armies and slay demigods if he has to, but he will find a guild of wizards–or someone he can respect enough to love. Maybe the genderfluid archer, the obsequious blacksmith, the bold thief, the regenade adventurer, the two-faced general, and the other oddballs will help him search. They’re all worthy of respect in their own way, but Oag has never been one to settle down and quit. He wants more.
What To Expect:
- Hero invents his own magic system
- Competent/smart protagonist
- Single POV, male MC
- LitRPG rebel
- Anti-formulaic
- Power progression
- Magic-fueled shenanigans
- Author has a previous 6 book series completed
Requisite Warnings:
This work of fiction has a diverse cast of characters in an environment where misogyny and transphobia are normalized. Characters’ views do not reflect the author’s views.
The author does not use genAI or LLMs or crowdsourcing for writing, editing, or outlining, and will never outsource the fun parts of storytelling. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. No part of this book may be used or repurposed for training technologies or machine learning systems.
This edition is a rough draft preview/work in progress intended only for a web serial readership or for friends and beta readers. If you are seeing this text in a purchased ebook or print book that purports to be written by someone other than Abby Goldsmith, please report it as plagiarism.
I’ve completed one epic series in my life, but they are massive projects, and I expect to revise and retcon chapters of this one. Feedback is always welcome.
COVER PREVIEWS:
