Remaining Human

She risks her humanity... for the truth.

Sheila knows the godlike Sera aren’t what they seem; others worship them, but to her they’re underhanded crooks and liars who use religion to hoard knowledge and oppress humanity. Living in the Outlands, she feels safe from them until an unfriendly visit from the Sera librarian proves otherwise. For her father, an apostate, has things the Sera want – a collection of books stolen from their library, and Sheila, who was promised to join the pilgrimage to become one of them.

Horrified at this revelation, Sheila flees only to be captured and brought to the Sera monastery to undergo training. There she discovers not evildoers, but ones who are desperately fighting to restore lost technology to humanity. Yet the maddeningly remote, condescending Sera do little to endear themselves, leaving Sheila in doubt of the truth behind them, but knowing where to find it—at the end of the dangerous pilgrimage to become one of them. But even she does not know how far she is prepared to go, or what she is willing to risk to obtain it.

The journey to the lost city, the source of the Sera’s knowledge and power, is not an easy one, and Sheila will need to gather friends, solve deadly riddles, and thwart enemies and traitors. But in the search for the truth, one problem haunts her most—can she survive with both the answers and her humanity intact?

Note: This scifi story is the first in a series. Characters you like may die and it has an open ending.