WITH HEXES FOR EXES now completed, I've begun to start work on my next novel... And below's the current WIP blurb and some of the characters!

This novel is set in the fictional Dan dynasty within Ancient China. I'd put it at around the Tang Dynasty era, though I'll be doing my best to not actually place it in any specific time period. It's what we call 架空 in China—it's basically in its own little universe. The locations will be based off actual locations in China (with the capital being Luoyang, which was historically the capital during many dynasties), and I'll be doing my best to keep things as historically accurate as possible.

Okay, but before I get too carried away, here's the blurb and a brief character introduction.

—

THE BALLAD OF ETERNAL GLORY
永華歌 (yong hua ge)

In the capital of Luoyang, the daughters of the Grand Chancellor Shangguan An each await their own glorious destinies. And by their side is their cousin, Fei Minxi, who observes the machinations of the nobles of the Dan Dynasty and the different fates of the three Shangguan daughters.

—

IT IS A plot that brings Fei Minxi to the imperial capital of Luoyang, into the arms of her proud and magnificent cousins. The Shangguan sisters are the staple of Luoyang's high society, the daughters of the dynasty's Grand Chancellor. No one shines as brightly as they. And by standing with them, Minxi is thrust into a world she is not prepared for, that she was never taught to be a part of.

The sisters are all fascinating in their own rights. The eldest is Shangguan Yunhua, promised to be the future Empress since birth. The second, Shangguan Yunjun, a girl not of the courts but of the battlefield, the youngest female general of the dynasty. And the youngest, Shangguan Yunxuan, the picture of the perfect lady, the envy of all despite being the daughter of a concubine.

And so Minxi watches. As she watches the battle of the heirs, watches Yunhua become the wife of the heir and then their Empress. Watches the Shangguan family claws their way to the top, as it all splinters apart.

This is a story of glory, and how one family attempts to leave their name in the long river of history.

That's the blurb! And below are some of the key characters...

Shangguan Yunhua (上官允華): The eldest daughter of Shangguan An, the promised future Empress of the Dan Dynasty. Yunhua is ambitious and cunning, willing to give everything up to make her way to the very top.

Shangguan Yunjun (上官允君): Unlike her sisters, Yunjun was raised on the front lines alongside her brother. Instead of being the elegant young lady, Yunjun is a soldier through and through, and one of the most promising young generals of the Dan Dynasty.

Shangguan Yunxuan (上官允萱): The daughter of a concubine, Yunxuan is of lower status than her sisters, but her gracefulness and beauty causes her to be a well-admired name among those in the upper echelons of Luoyang society.

Shangguan Tianjin (上官天錦): The eldest and only son of Shangguan An, Tianjin is his father's heir, but often finds himself outshone by his sisters. Still, he is a promising fighter like Yunjun, and devotes himself to the glory of the Shangguan family.

Shangguan An (上官安): The patriarch of the family and the Grand Chancellor of the Dan Dynasty, Shangguan An is what it means to be "above millions and below one". An intelligent and shrewd man, he jumps the line between the black and the white, servicing the people of the empire while furthering his own gains.

Fei Minxi (斐敏曦): A distant cousin of the Shangguans, Minxi is summoned to Luoyang to join her cousins for the tri-yearly bride selection of the imperial family. While she is not nearly as cunning or manipulative as the three Shangguan sisters, she is intelligent in her own right, even if she seeks different things in life.

Yuan Chiqian (袁赤謙): The nephew of the current Emperor, Chiqian is widely an invisible presence among the nobility of Luoyang, and that is his intention. Still, he's a well-read scholar and decent soldier on the battlefield—or at least that's what he shows to the rest of the world.

Yuan Yinqi (袁胤祺): The oldest son and thus the heir apparent of the Emperor, he's been all but betrothed to Yunhua since an early age. Intelligent, single-minded and shrewd, he seems to be an excellent choice for a ruler. He's also rather charming, an excellent match for Yunhua's unlimited ambition.

Huo Murong (霍慕榮): A young lordling known for his precarious reputation and unparalleled wealth, Murong is a figure of gossip and scandal among the nobility of Luoyang. Still, everyone just can't help but love him. Though it is rumoured that his heart already belonged to someone long ago...

Those are sort of the main characters of the novel. I'm estimating it to be quite a long one, anywhere from 120k to 200k words. I already have the entire plot planned out (which is a miracle for me, by the way), and I cannot wait to introduce you guys to it.

(Bonus to those of you who read Chinese or feel like googling some stuff: most of the characters' names already symbolise their fate or their personalities. Feel free to do some investigating.)