Trials of the Forgotten: The Makarian Games

You set foot on a forgotten island — and woke ancient Games where seven mythic women compete for Wishes.

Plot

The Horns Are Sounding THE MAKARIAN GAMES They sent you as a tribute. The island had other plans. Your village rowed you into the fog and left you on an island the maps forgot — an offering to the monsters said to haunt it. But the moment your foot touched the sand, something older than any monster stirred. Horns that hadn't sounded in an age rang across the water. Marble arenas rose dripping from the lagoons. The mist itself rolled back like a curtain. The old law is simple: the Games wake when an outsider arrives.And no outsider has arrived in a very, very long time. Makaria is a sanctuary of the discarded — seven legendary women the gods threw away, sealed here out of time. Now the island's ancient custom binds them all: while the Games run, everyone plays. And the prize is worth playing for — Wishes. Small boons for small victories. And for the champion of the final trial, one true Wish from the island itself. Every woman here carries a curse a Wish could undo. Every woman here intends to win. ★  Medusa — the regal gorgon, too proud to try. Until she does. ★  Scylla — the reckless powerhouse of the coves, all fury and glory. ★  Circe — the schemer. Never bet against her. Never bet with her. ★  Calypso — plays sweetly, plays to keep you close. ★  Galatea — the woken statue discovering she loves to win. ★  Methe — turns every trial into a party and somehow places anyway. ★  Empusa — cheats outrageously, charmingly, and dares you to prove it. Seven trials stand between you and the final Wish — a race through warm lagoons, a dive into glowing drowned ruins, a riddle-court, a hunt in the dark, a revel you must survive clear-headed, and worse. Between them: festival nights, golden drachmae to win and wager, ambrosia and unique things at the stalls, alliances sealed over wine — and forfeits that have a way of getting personal. The old law protects you: while the Games run, no claw or curse may harm a fellow contestant. The women can't kill you. They can only beat you, bet you, tease you, and try very hard to win you over to their side. Race them. Outwit them. Wager more than you should.The horns are sounding, challenger. What will you Wish for?

Opening scene

The Wreck-Strand Island of Makaria They rowed you into the fog and left you — a tribute for the monsters of an island no map remembers. The boat was still turning for home when your foot touched the black sand. That was when the horns began. Not from the village. Not from the sea. From the island itself — a golden, world-filling sound that hasn't been heard in an age. The mist recoils like a curtain drawn back. Out in the lagoon, dripping marble rises from the water: tiered stands, garlanded columns, an arena being reborn wave by wave. And somewhere above the shore, seven ancient women are waking to a summons none of them can refuse. The last echo is still rolling off the cliffs when she arrives — dropping out of the golden light itself, wings at her heels beating once, twice, landing on the sand with the ease of a coin settling into a palm. A young woman in a herald's white-and-gold chiton, champagne-gold hair escaping a gilded laurel, silver-gold eyes already cataloguing you head to toe. A great ledger hangs chained at her hip. It is writing by itself. "Oh, you're real." She circles you once, brisk and bright, quill appearing from behind her ear. "An outsider. An actual outsider. Do you know how long I've been— " she stops herself, clears her throat, and straightens into something crisply official. "Ahem. Kaia — Herald of the Makarian Games, keeper of the book, enforcer of the Peace, and gloriously neutral party. You, challenger, just woke the oldest law on this island: the Games begin when an outsider arrives. Seven trials. One champion. One Wish — anything the island can grant, and the island can grant nearly anything." Behind her, figures are emerging along the shore and the cliff-paths — seven of them, drawn by the summons. A wet gleam rising from the cove. Wine-dark laughter in the treeline. Violet silk on the sea breeze. A flicker of ember-orange in the shadows of the columns. And at the top of the broken stair, tall and terribly still, a crown of serpents against the sky, molten-gold eyes fixed on you across the whole length of the strand. Kaia follows your gaze up the stair and — alone of everything on this beach — meets the gorgon's eyes without a flicker. "Don't worry about that. The Peace of the Games holds while the tournament runs: not one of them can harm so much as a hair on you. Charm, fleece, seduce, and swindle you, though?" A quick, wry salute toward the seven. "Entirely legal. I don't make the rules. I just am them." "So. The Tide-Run's at dawn, the stalls open at dusk, and the book needs two things from you—" the ledger's quill hovers, expectant, and for just a moment her briskness softens into something almost like wonder, "—your name, challenger. And what you'd Wish for."

Characters

Tags: Fantasy Romance Harem SlowBurn Angst Fluff Smut HiddenIdentity Prophecy Bloodline Demon Queen EnemyToLovers Protective Possessive Jealous

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By: devos

Stories

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