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An Unexpected Face: A Last Eclipse Novella
Laaj was never meant to stand out. Born the son of wool merchants, he expected a quiet life—until a fire reduced his world to ash. Grief-stricken and orphaned, he finds shelter within the walls of Midormere’s cathedral, where the gods' mercy masks something far more dangerous.
When a shunned goddess takes notice of the power Laaj struggles to hide, she offers him something no mortal protection, belonging, and the chance to shape his gift into something greater. But everything comes with a price—and the gods never bargain fair.
As his choices pull him deeper into divine schemes, Laaj must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice to protect the life he’s built... and whether the monster the world fears is already staring back at him in the mirror.
A dark fantasy novella exploring grief, power, and the price of becoming someone new. Set in the world of The Last Eclipse, but perfect for new readers.
Content & Trigger Warnings
This story contains dark and emotionally heavy themes. Please read with care, especially if you're sensitive to any of the
Child grief and bereavement (parental death, orphans)Child endangerment and bullyingEmotional manipulation and coercion (including supernatural manipulation)Physical violence (fistfights, injuries, and assaults)Magical manipulation of free willMentions of murder and on-page aftermathReligious themes and tension (faith, godly politics, betrayal)Pregnancy and childbirth complicationsMaternal mortalityDeath of a mentor figureDark themes around autonomy, control, and loss of agencyGoddess worship, manipulation, and psychological pressureYour emotional well-being is important, so please take care while reading. Recommended for mature teens and adult readers.
When a shunned goddess takes notice of the power Laaj struggles to hide, she offers him something no mortal protection, belonging, and the chance to shape his gift into something greater. But everything comes with a price—and the gods never bargain fair.
As his choices pull him deeper into divine schemes, Laaj must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice to protect the life he’s built... and whether the monster the world fears is already staring back at him in the mirror.
A dark fantasy novella exploring grief, power, and the price of becoming someone new. Set in the world of The Last Eclipse, but perfect for new readers.
Content & Trigger Warnings
This story contains dark and emotionally heavy themes. Please read with care, especially if you're sensitive to any of the
Child grief and bereavement (parental death, orphans)Child endangerment and bullyingEmotional manipulation and coercion (including supernatural manipulation)Physical violence (fistfights, injuries, and assaults)Magical manipulation of free willMentions of murder and on-page aftermathReligious themes and tension (faith, godly politics, betrayal)Pregnancy and childbirth complicationsMaternal mortalityDeath of a mentor figureDark themes around autonomy, control, and loss of agencyGoddess worship, manipulation, and psychological pressureYour emotional well-being is important, so please take care while reading. Recommended for mature teens and adult readers.
60 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 24, 2025
2 people want to read
About the author
Zenia Platten
5 books4 followersZenia contracted chicken pox within her first week of life from her loving brother. He insists it was an accident, but she has her suspicions. Despite that rocky start, she seems to have gotten on alright. She lives on Canada’s west coast with her partner and their pooch.
Zenia did not expect to stumble into writing, but she has fallen wholeheartedly in love with it. While she has dabbled in writing non-fiction blogs within the emergency preparedness industry, her strong preference is story telling. She has no formal training but gets by on a combination of stubbornness and autocorrect.
The Last Eclipse series and its spinoff, The Grimm and the Reaper, are her current obsessions.
Zenia did not expect to stumble into writing, but she has fallen wholeheartedly in love with it. While she has dabbled in writing non-fiction blogs within the emergency preparedness industry, her strong preference is story telling. She has no formal training but gets by on a combination of stubbornness and autocorrect.
The Last Eclipse series and its spinoff, The Grimm and the Reaper, are her current obsessions.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 2, 2025
I’m a sucker for a good villain backstory, and this one is no exception. Laaj made my skin crawl in The Ghost of Midormere, and the depth that Platten gives him in An Unexpected Face makes him multifaceted, tragic, and (dare I say) relatable.
Laaj’s story fits seamlessly within the existing world of The Last Eclipse, and was full of hints and Easter eggs for The Ghost of Midormere that I loved picking out. I was especially keen on the extra lore and details about the Family of Gods. The plot moves relentlessly and made this story practically impossible to put down!
As I’ve come to expect from Platten, the characters are complicated and undeniably human — for better or for worse. In under 100 pages, Platten made me love Laaj, then hate him, then feel profoundly sad: the ending made me need to lie down on the floor to recover emotionally (this is a compliment).
Laaj’s story fits seamlessly within the existing world of The Last Eclipse, and was full of hints and Easter eggs for The Ghost of Midormere that I loved picking out. I was especially keen on the extra lore and details about the Family of Gods. The plot moves relentlessly and made this story practically impossible to put down!
As I’ve come to expect from Platten, the characters are complicated and undeniably human — for better or for worse. In under 100 pages, Platten made me love Laaj, then hate him, then feel profoundly sad: the ending made me need to lie down on the floor to recover emotionally (this is a compliment).
Displaying 1 of 1 review