Fire & Flight


In Fire & Flight, what we call “fall” is actually “Harvum” (pronounced /hahr-vuhm/). It’s a time when the leaves of the Shadow Forest change from sapphire to teal or mossy green — except the ashen and coal-dark trees never actually lose their leaves. And all across the kingdom of Tenebris (pronounced /tEn-AH-brIs/), from the Barrier Plains to the Godberd Woods and beyond, farmers are bringing in the last of their bountiful harvests before the snowy season. Merchants are returning to port from overseas before they’re stranded in the merciless oceans or grasping at every Libac (pronounced lie-back; form of paper currency) they can earn before the snow prevents travel to and from the marketplaces. For main characters, Nyla and Xander, the dwindling days of Hugony (pronounced: hugh-gon-ee) before Harvum are spent traveling deeper into the Shadow Forest on a journey that is sure to change them both…

Now that may not sound like pumpkin spice and everything nice, I can assure you that Harvum is typically a fun time, chock full of moonlit feasts with neighbors after the last of the harvest has been yielded. Traditionally, these feasts are accompanied by dancing and music and maybe even a bonfire or two, though in the cities, celebrations are a little different. Rather than long tables and picnic blankets, Harvum has turned into a formal event in which people begin to look toward the coming year and coordinate the final season of the year, all while navigating the dance floor and dinner etiquette (seriously: which fork should I use for this course?).

Which would you rather: a feast between neighbors or a masquerade ball amongst business partners and close friends? For me, it’s the feast and merrymaking, but I have always wanted a masquerade ball…