The Shifting Tides

The Shifting Tides is the writing project I consider the closest and dearest to my heart. I started working on it in August of 2020, although it's origins go back to 2016 at least. The first draft of its current iteration was finished around June 2021, right after I graduated from high school. It's taken some inspiration from We Hunt the Flame, The Tiger at Midnight, Beasts of Prey, and other YA/NA stories written by POC authors, but it's since grown into its own story at this point, with barely any traces of its inspiration left. I consider it's rating between Young Adult and New Adult, so somewhere around 16+ for an age range.

I consider the genre a low/mid-fantasy romance. There’s a bit of extensive worldbuilding, but canonically the series takes place in an alternate universe where the meteor that killed the dinosaurs ended up being imbued in magic. Said magic spread through the earth, and is what eventually caused the holindal mutation. In addition, this Earth has a ring system of a similar intensity to Neptune, caused by the colliding of Theia.

The story takes place in Cardania, (carr-DAHN-ya): the name that refers to two continents to the east and the west. The western continent is Erashia, while the eastern one is Askarn. To no one’s surprise, the countries that occupy both of these continents take their name from them: Rshia and Askana. Between the two rests the Cai’an Sea, as it is known internationally, although different cultures have different names for it. Within said sea lies the Isles of Khadar, home to holindal, the shapeshifters.

Holindal were cursed by the blood of a dragon goddess to forever be stuck between human and beast, due to their arrogance and lack of care for other creatures in the past. Their “true form” is that of a dragon, and the holindal’s hearts are made of golden pearls which allows them to shapeshift. If a pearl is damaged in any way, they lose control of their shapeshifting abilities and can go landola: which means they lose themselves. Holindal are able to shapeshift into normal animal forms as well as their dragon one.

Blood spills at the drop of a hat. Lives are lost every day. It's up to you to decide whether or not you want to fight, or be devoured.

Cursed by the blood of a goddess, Saran Turakina has known a life of being less-than-human. His people are holindal, once regular humans now given the ability to shapeshift into draconic forms. To improve relationships with the Kingdom of Askana, Saran’s grandfather has arranged a marriage with their prince. While on a seaward journey to meet his future husband, Saran’s boat is intercepted by pirates, and he’s taken prisoner for a ransom.

On a ship far from home, and with only his two closest friends for company, Saran is forced to come face to face with the pirate king: Viridian Kambiri, captain of the Howling Wolf and charming leader of the Sea Wolves.

As Saran traverses the maze of secrets and betrayals that fester beneath Askana, it doesn’t take him to realize there’s more to the oppression and hatred towards the holindal diaspora than the monarchy is letting onto. And the secrets they hide is one he must bring to the light. But if violence is the only way of stopping them, then does that not make Saran a murderer, like them?

And if so, how will he stop them without losing his soul in the process?

Featuring...

The following tropes:

Enemies to friends to lovers, found family, secret royalty.

The themes of:

Coming of age, trauma recovery, rebellion and war, self-discovery, sins of the father, and the deconstruction of "if you kill them, you'll be just like them".

Representation for:

A transmasculine and vincian main character, a bisexual main character, a queerplatonic relationship between three major character (MC included), and an aroace main character. In addition, the cast is made up entirely of dark-skinned characters.

Trigger warnings

Typical fantasy violence

Moderate ➜ severe – As a young/new adult series, The Shifting Tides features violence that typically appears in books within this age range.

Blood and gore

Moderate ➜ severe – Due to the nature of the holindal, a significant amount of scenes feature heavy violence and body horror. This includes descriptions of decapitations, lacerations of the stomach, and amputations.

Childhood abuse

Mild ➜ moderate – A number of major characters (and side characters) were raised by one or more abusive parents. Although it is rarely seen on page, it is heavily referenced and described

Physical and mental abuse/trauma

Severe – A significant portion of major characters are put through physical and mental torture (including sexual abuse). In one case, it is described in graphic detail over the course of multiple chapters.

Panic and anxiety attacks

Moderate – One major character (and side characters) suffer from generalized anxiety disorders. As such, there are a few instances where panic and/or anxiety attacks are shown and described.

Queerphobia

Mild ➜ moderate – Certain characters hold beliefs not unlike evangelical Christians in our world, and use these beliefs to justify their hatred towards the main characters.

Racism and xenophobia

Moderate ➜ severe – Due to some characters coming from minority countries, they are often subjected to hate. In some cases, hate crimes. The holindal are the biggest example of this.

Sexism

Mild – Though not as prevelent as other issues shown, there are certain characters who hold beliefs towards all sorts of genders that are extremely harmful.