The Mystic Menace

### Illustrator

Nicole Pascaru (Digital colouring, Design)Stephanie Pascaru (Cover drawings, Map, Design)

### Pages

630

**The Mystic Menace** is a standalone high fantasy novel by Stephanie Kim Pascaru. It was released on April 21, 2022 as a paperback by Life Rattle Press.

## Blurb

*For three hundred years, the kingdom of Camellia has been stuck in a never-ending plague. A glowing claw mark on everyone’s wrists and a lifespan cut off at forty. No one knows how it started. No one knows its true purpose. And no one has ever been cured.*

*Almost no one.*

*When Isadora discovers an ancient gemstone, she is freed from the plague and unearths strange powers—powers Camellia hasn’t seen in centuries. Now every peasant, soldier, and assassin is on the hunt for Isadora, eager to take her down. That’s more than fine with Isadora—it’s exactly the kind of adventure she was waiting for. With the help of Terrance, the ever-skilled (and ever-arrogant) soldier, Isadora sets out on a quest to uncover the truth, lift the plague, and defeat the Eternal Rulers that started it all.*

*But the Eternal Rulers are not to be messed with. They’ve snuffed out rebellious sparks before, and they can do it again, for they have secrets older than the plague itself—secrets that could mean the destruction of Camellia forever.*

## Setting

The novel is set in an alternate version of Earth, with fictional kingdoms sharing stylistic, geographic, and cultural similarities to several medieval-era European and Asian countries such as China, Japan, Romania, The Philippines, Italy, England, France, Spain, India, etc. The novel takes place in the late 1300s, although it is uncertain whether this year aligns with real time or real history, as the characters have an anachronistic manner of speech and are aware of some scientific facts and technologies that were not yet known in the 1300s.

## Characters

### Main Characters

* **Isadora** - A seventeen year old farm girl and the protagonist of the novel. She is inventive, adventurous, and curious, which often leads her into troublesome situations. Isadora discovers King Elisyan's secret letter and the black opal, which cures her of the plague and unleashes her lightning powers. After learning the truth about King Aeric and Queen Kinarra from Elisyan's letter, Isadora sets off on a mission to overthrow the royals and reclaim the throne.
* **Terrance** - A nineteen year old soldier. He is sarcastic, fun-loving, and relaxed, with a somewhat crude humour. He prefers to stay out of trouble whenever possible and dislikes breaking rules. Despite this, he offers to join Isadora on her mission and teaches her how to fight so she can hold her own against the ever-powerful royals.
* **King Aeric** - The king of Camellia and the primary antagonist of the novel. He is clever, manipulative, and egotistical. A powerful fire wielder, Aeric murdered King Elisyan and took over the throne, serving as Camellia's ruler for three hundred years, all while still retaining a deceptively youthful appearance. Unknown to the people of Camellia, Aeric created the plague, and has been using it to transfer the life energy of his victims to himself and to his wife, Kinarra, allowing them to retain eternal youth.
* **Queen Kinarra** - The queen of Camellia. She is cunning, enigmatic, and vain. Like Aeric, Kinarra uses the plague to stay forever young. She often helps Aeric with his schemes, though she prefers standing back and letting him do all the work.
* **King Elisyan** - The former king of Camellia. He is a lightning wielder, courageous but weakened from old age. Though he tries to protect Camellia from Aeric and Kinarra, he is ultimately killed by a powerful, unforeseen creature of the mist.

### Supporting Characters

* **Valerius Nominari** - A fourteen year old messenger, energetic and courteous. Being part of the Nominari bloodline, Valerius was born with giant, angel-like wings that grant him the ability to fly. Like the rest of his family, he can also shapeshift into a blue rooster. He seeks out Isadora and Terrance's help in defeating the royals, wishing to restore honour to his family name.
* **Theo** - A twenty-three year old blacksmith's striker. He is Isadora's older brother, laid-back, cool, and naturally skilled in hunting, boxing, metalwork, and toxicology. Months before the events of *The Mystic Menace*, Theo meets and falls in love with Chandra, and marries her soon after.
* **Chandra** - A twenty-two year old seamstress. She is Isadora's sister-in-law, soft-spoken, bubbly, and graceful, with a love for fashion and a tendency to worry.
* **Caelum Tomi** - A twenty-one year old soldier. He is Terrance's friend, kindhearted and generous despite his wealthy upbringing.
* **Aurora** - A rice farmer and Isadora's mother. Stern but well-meaning, Aurora often scolds Isadora for stealing from their boss, Lord Petrocious, and for Isadora's various antics at the farm.
* **Dimas** - A wheat farmer and Isadora's father. He is intimidating but easygoing, often cracking jokes at inopportune times, much to Aurora's annoyance.
* **Relia** **Sanziana Soarelui** - A nineteen year old Chief Maid. She is in charge of the castle kitchen and keeping everything in order, which gives her a lot of stress.
* **Shuiyu** - A fourteen year old castle servant, high spirited and temperamental. She is half-human, half-ondine, tasked with watching over Aeric's sword, the Executioner, while it is in the process of forging.
* **The Phantom Wolves** - A centuries-old covert organization of assassins founded by Queen Kinarra, consisting of nine members whose identities are passed down from person to person. Those selected into the organization take on the identity of one of the nine assassins, carrying out tasks on Aeric and Kinarra's command. After discovering Elisyan has a descendant, Aeric enlists the Phantom Wolves to find and capture Isadora.
* **Queen Luna** - The former Queen of Camellia and wife of King Elisyan. Although she is of royal blood, she did not inherit her family's powerful wind-generating abilities.

### Other Characters

* **Nuno** - A goblin of the mound, with the ability to shrink in size and a habit of inflicting curses.
* **Lord Petrocious** - A wealthy nobleman who owns most of Camellia's farmlands.
* **The farm hands** - Isadora's colleagues who work under Lord Petrocious, including Shirley, Finnean, Lavinia, Bert, Mildred, and the three unnamed farmhands: the green-veiled girl, blue-veiled girl, and scythe-wielding boy.
* **Empress Urania** - The elderly ruler of the Quillwort Empire. She has the ability to control the element uranium to trigger nuclear explosions.
* **Burke** - The seven-foot-tall Quillwort tournament champion.
* **Ricarad** - A travelling performer who specializes in knife-throwing and possesses several rare artifacts.
* **Tournament Announcer** - A short man in charge of hosting the Quillwort hearts festival tournment and keeping score.
* **The Captain** - The head of Camellia's armed forces. He also acts as a proxy leader of Camellia when the king and queen are unavailable.
* **Royal guards** - Squads of spear-wielding soldiers working for the King under the guidance of the Captain.
* **King's Court** - A group of shifty courtiers who serve as advisors, attendants, and associates to King Aeric and Queen Kinarra.
* **Castle Cooks** - A disorderly group of servants working under the command of Relia Sanziana Soarelui.
* **Cecelia** - A noblewoman involved in the castle kitchen's affairs.
* **Head librarian** - A young woman in charge of overseeing Camellia's library.
* **Soran** - Elisyan and Luna's only son.