Fictives: Verve and Darkest Before Black

In the world of Verve, two underground cities exist for the sole purpose of staging an eternal contest in genetic engineering. The goal--to create the most maladaptive project that can survive for exactly one cycle. When a worker named Kaleo is allowed to enter the ranks of the higher city, it will take more than creativity to discover what lies beneath the perfect system for manufacturing imperfection. In a peculiar, darkened city on a world of blinding light, Sentinels are created and maintained by a class of sorcerers, so that they may protect Lyreil from an un-ending assault of creatures from beyond. The leading Sentinel is a strange beast, called into shadowy attention only by its commanding sorcerer, Rhys Sintel. The city has always revered--and heavily rewarded--both master and creation for the duties they perform, but few know the story of how either came to be among their midst. However, not knowing the past does not save the ignorant from its consequences, and Lyreil is a place haunted by powerful memories, given to harsh retribution and intolerant of disease. Darkest Before Black tells the story of Rhys Sintel's downfall, and the life after death of his creator.