Yantra
by Kristin Swanberg
A young queen and her confidantes are left to battle evil creatures and depraved tyrants seeking to exploit her home for their own nefarious purposes. Lured to the land of their mortal enemies, a wormhole brings human explorers escaping the cataclysmic end of humanity on Earth, the young queen is engrossed in battling her planet's villains and chasing an otherworldly love.On a majestic planet, a menacing sorceress wins the heart of a power hungry prince who stop at nothing to control the tranquil, wealthy nation of Yantra. To their dismay, the prince's innocent, younger sister, Astrid, is crowned queen of Yantra after the sudden death of the queen. The young fairy princess and her confidantes are left to battle evil creatures and depraved tyrants seeking to exploit her home for their own nefarious purposes. Astrid and her love, Zander, are lured to the land of their mortal enemies when a wormhole brings human explorers escaping the cataclysmic end of humanity on Earth, the young queen finds herself torn between protecting her world from the chaos ensued by the villains of her planet while chasing a forbidden, otherworldly love. Set on a majestic, distant planet with three nations plagued by tense relations from unresolved conflict after years at war, their power struggle reaches a boiling point as Princess Astrid comes of age at the dawn of an alien invasion. The largest continent of Yantra is a bucolic land with peaceful citizens who are winged, hooved, or have fins. The continent south of Yantra is a haven for witches and warlocks called Tulim, where the humid swamps are punctuated by a horrific volcano called Mt. Naga that is cursed with blood ghosts, ogres, and the undead to terrorize prisoners sent there to live out their days. South of Tulim is Vovros which is a merciless desert with a government run by a ruthless dictator, Azaran, who microchips his citizens to b sure of their whereabouts and each citizen is drugged with a highly potent stimulant to keep them working long hours with very little sleep or food. Citizens of Vovros who refused to take the drug would be whipped and locked in a cage under the scorching sun until they finally gave in. The three continents went to war when Azaran realized he would be rich if he controlled the only supply of Coix Floribunda and distribution of Coix salt, and Yantra was the only place where the plant could be found. Yantra knew the dangerous potential of the drug and forbade people from using it recreationally. Tulim joined the fray with the promise of land in Yantra and because some of the sorcerers saw an opportunity for a power grab.The greedy Azaran wants to conquer Yantra along his path to world domination and forcing his son, Yuri to wed Astrid. The dark witch Preta likewise seeks supremacy. After declaring herself Empress of Tulim with her army of sorcerers, ogres, giants, and cursed creatures, she moves on to Yantra. She enchants Prince Maddox and tricks him into poisoning his mother the Queen. Astrid is named queen afterward due to her mother’s last minute change in succession. Preta bewitches Astrid and Zander, leading them to Mt. Naga where she plans for them to rot. Jealous of Stella’s beauty and past relationship with Maddox, Preta traps Stella in the sea among her vampire brethren. Stella becomes cursed after receiving a bite. Astrid and Zander are sent to the foreboding Mt. Naga and barely escape blood ghosts and the undead. Astrid’s wing is badly burned by an explosion of lava hindering her from flying.As Zander and Astrid escape Mt. Naga, they seek the help of a witch. after stealing a page from her spell book, the two lovers find themselves somewhere they never imagined.