Hinting at a dark trafficking ring in Catenarian Chronicles
Hints that a dark trafficking ring exists start in Cursed Mage. Once Astray Mage rolls around, everything goes straight to hell.
If you don’t think my Catenarian Chronicles series ain’t dark, you haven’t been looking in the proper places. In Book I, Cursed Mage, I hint at institutions, and that should be all you need to know for what’s about to go down.
Secluded prisons exist. Prisons where inmates locked down in eight-by-eight cells 24/7 are so gone, they emit maniacal screams. Fast-forward to Astray Mage, where a revelation made toward the end of the book qualifies for the series’ oh shit moment.
But my protagonist, Kaija Jokiharju, had a hunch. She’d already seen other ways elite Mages torture souls innocent of any wrongdoing. Pain therapy, beyond anything else.
Imagine, if you will. You’re strapped to a hospital bed with electrodes monitoring every vital function. You have a strange contraption over your face. One that processes images that you’re supposed to recoil from. And recoil, you will, as you’ll experience excruciating pain beyond measure until the message sinks in.
Where do you go when they “heal” you? Not home, where you’d rat out these elitists. Oh, no. They’re gonna pass you on. And once they remove your blindfold, you won’t know if you’re even in your home country.
Heck, you may even end up at a military training outpost.
👉 Cursed Mage will throw you serious hints at this dark trafficking ring
I don’t hide this dark trafficking hint
It’s not long before I drop the first hint: institutions. I also outline how those institutions come in different sizes. Some are learning outlets for Mages, like Linna Yliopisto.
Other than the prisons I mentioned earlier, some of these institutions are holding areas. Mage elitists visit these areas, browse them for people their subordinates packed like sardines into cages, and purchase them.
Are some of these people the ancestors of the Palvelija? Non-Mage Moors sworn to work for Mages and uphold their secrecy? Or are the Palvelija still increasing in numbers? Trapped and bought, so elitists can own their team of indentured servants?
Some may consider themselves lucky to be Palvelija, given the sick truths Kaija uncovers as she dives deeper into the dark nuances of Mage Society. Once upon a time, Kaija may’ve thought such an evil couldn’t exist. But exist it does.
Get a taste of what this trafficking looks like
Cursed Mage drops you those nice, little clues and previews. But don’t worry, because what good is telling? You’re gonna see some of those places in this dark trafficking ring up close and personal.
You’re gonna see the same dank corridors she’ll need to walk through to rescue one prisoner in particular. And you’ll hear the same blood-curdling screams from those who’ve lost their sense of self. Screams that’ll give Kaija nightmares.
So head over to The Rebel Lore Vault, unpack Cursed Mage, and start reading this paranormal dark fantasy if your sanity can handle it. If it does, then great. You got a strong and resilient mind.
