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A Christian fantasy novel about hope emerging from darkness. This tale focuses on themes of virtue, coming of age, and hope.
Ascendant: Saga of Valor
Where the Lord Ascendant scourges valor and truth in pursuit of utopia, only those with the courage to pursue valor and truth shall escape their dystopic fate.
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"Ascendant: Saga of Valor is like if Orwell were to read Robin Hobbs and create an epic fantasy love child."
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Ascendant is a high fantasy novel by Izaic Yorks. The story follows a few characters: Dirk Ava, Dirk Aurel, Dirk Sorsha, Kotuk, and Bors Vitus - though it focuses most heavily on Ava.
The overall premise of the story is long ago a flourishing city-state became rotten with decades of slavery and thus a justice-seeking Ascendant creates the right situation for the slaves to revolt and overthrow the ruler.
Flash forward a couple of hundred years and the city-state is now a dystopic society (to some) that has frozen its industry and is seeking the perfect state of utopia. Ava (raised by her father with radical ideologies) is set on a gritty coming-of-age story where she must try to overthrow the two rulers of the city-state.
The major question of this story is: do the ends justify the means of radical change—even a good change? And is it possible to take part in a revolution and yet leave one's soul intact and pure?
The thematic virtue of the story is focused on that of fortitude in the service of the higher theological virtue of hope.
Lastly Ascendant makes an overture to femininity in the guise of girl bossdom. Make no mistake Ava is a girl-boss but her true power is the unwitting way in which she calls the hero forth and back into the fold of his true masculinity.
As this is a relatively self-enclosed book of a planned trilogy we see a finished plot and the threads left open for Ava to show her way to fortitude, valor, hope, and the exercise of femininity.
Ascendant: Saga of Valor
Back Matter
Revolution cometh!
The sound of Valor shall resound, piercing even the deepest reaches of the city, and in the end, not a soul will be untarnished. . .
Until now, no one has managed to end the Lord Prime's tyranny, until a deep and unlikely magic awakens within her.
Dirk Ava wants the same things as any other teenager: Someone to love, the freedom to do as she wishes, and the chance to overthrow the Lord Prime.
Daughter to a rebel extremist, Dirk Ava has been groomed for rebellion before she could even walk, but when the magic of the Ascendants appears within her, Ava's life is turned inside out.
Set on a soul-shattering quest, Ava's coming-of-age story requires her to master her powers, overcome betrayal, and slay the Lord Prime or lose everything and everyone she loves.
This is her destiny, but where good comes at the cost of evil, will Dirk Ava be able to keep her soul untarnished? Or will she become the very monster she hates?
