Eagles and Swans

Eagles and Swans is the first story in the world of Gaedera. It is set entirely in Astra, and centres around the exploits of the sixteen-year-old Ruthenia Fulminare Cendina in the years 490 and 491.

It was conceived in 2010 and written over the course of two years. From 2010 to 2014 it bore the placeholder title of Umbrella Story.

It may be classified broadly as a political fantasy novel, with elements of steampunk, urban fantasy, high fantasy, and young adult genres, revelling in functional magic and its everyday uses. The first draft was completed in 2012, and the story was rewritten thrice between 2012 and 2016. It is currently undergoing its fourth rewrite.

Synopsis
Ruthenia Cendina is born in Astra, a nation with two kings and a largely airborne population kept in check by conservative, theocratic laws.

Orphaned at ten years old by a draconian decree, Ruthenia spent years living on the streets before she finds employment and a guardian in Titanio Calied, who enrolls her at the uptown Central Circle School.

When she is sixteen, a young goddess rises from the sea and begins to wreak meteorological havoc on Astra. Political trouble ensues as the kings struggle to respond to the ongoing disaster, relegated to indecision by the very religious conservatism that has been the bedrock of their governance. Everyone eventually gets involved, from the disenfranchised people of the street, to the Archbishop, to Ruthenia herself.

The novel concerns themes of family, difficult interpersonal relationships, theocracy, the social contract, political change, power and how it projects itself as spectacle, and the time-tested subject of breaking convention.

Ruthenia Fulminare Cendina
Ruthenia is a mechanic with a chip on her shoulder. Orphaned at the age of ten by the execution of her parents--an event that catalysed social unrest and led to the ousting of the previous diarchs--she lives with and works for her legal guardian Titanio, and attends school at the uptown Central Circle School, where she is a complete misfit.

Titanio Calied
Titanio is an engineer and inventor with three books in print. He is known for his innovative solutions to problems and his disregard for social convention. His legal ward and employee Ruthenia lives in a shed adjacent to his house.

Aleigh Luzerno
Arcane Prince Aleigh Luzerno is the brother of the Arcane King, Aligon, an individual with great status and visibility but almost no political power at all. He abhors the attention and sycophancy that his high status bring, and maintains a prickly demeanour to keep people away.

Hollia Calla Canavere
Hollia is a birdkeeper who runs an aviary on the outskirts of Candelabra Town. She has never been afforded, or dreamt of, a future beyond her birdkeeping, and her parents stopped living in their home when they found work in Sonora on the other side of the bridge.