A Lantern for the Broken Behemoth
By @john1208
The sun-scorched slave market of Khetar is no place for mercy, but Tevani refuses to leave without him. Striking a desperate deal with a cruel merchant, she trades her only magical artifact to purchase Rukhso, an enslaved Storm-Mane beastman destined to die as cannon fodder for the realm's celebrated 'Heroes.' Tevani doesn’t just heal his shattered body; she hands him the ancient Sky-Rending scrolls, giving him the knowledge and power to shatter his own chains. Alternating between Tevani's endlessly warm, third-person perspective and Rukhso’s fierce, protective awe, the story follows this platonic duo as they expose the fraudulent heroes who drain beast-kin for their holy magic. Guided by a glowing journal that leaves cryptic, affectionate notes, Tevani travels from world to world alongside her tiny moth-gecko companion, teaching discarded souls how to fight back. But why does the mysterious journal know her deepest secrets, and what happens when her fiercely devoted vanguard realizes his gentle savior is actually the amnesiac creator of the very multiverse she is trying to fix?
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