Assassinations headlined. Revolutions smoldering. War without end. Welcome to an optimistic, progressive-era world on the brink of an unfathomable global war rooted in division and rebellion. Six unique women must rise above societal prejudices and find unexpected friendship, unity, and love.

It is 1901, and the Vespa Academy of Sciences is at the forefront of a myth-filled globe teeming with radiant magic, new science, and old religion. The Academy seeks to end every war between the Kindred species, but lofty ideals rarely hold up in an adversarial new class of students. Journey through a school year that will intertwine Vespa's past, present, and future. Armed anarchists, whispered abominations, and incendiary calamities have returned to a fantastical world entering a modern era unlike any other.

Meet the Drawn Deck of Protagonists in the Grand Game of International Politics:

Viatrix – A religious Dwarf who is as brilliant as she is blind to her family's unfortunate follies.

Kirsi – A scholarship awarded Selkie representing a species that always finds trouble in Vespa.

Zabel – A tortured Elf bound in lies and carrying apocalyptic secrets beyond all comprehension.

Alya – A skeptical Abraxas Emira oddly dispatched from her distant and precarious land.

Kamila – A deadbeat Elector-princess on probation who has discovered a generational mystery.

Esmeralda – A Duchessa forced to unify her disappearing country before hell breaks loose.