Essa: In the Realm of the Gods

Essa should be dead. But despite the god Lukshi's efforts, she is still alive. The gods enslaved humanity in the distant past. Essa lives on a planet several thousand light years from Earth, except no one knows about Earth anymore. The study of history has been banned by the gods. Essa's father was killed in a heretic bombing. Essa's mother was worked to death on the orders of Lukshi, their planet's god. Not that the god knew she existed, for the entire population of the planet is being worked to death, except for the elites. The priests never seem to suffer. Essa was ordered to the temple brothel for her family's debts. She ran away instead. Abused, hunted, she found a device from ancient times, from when humanity stood against the gods. A suit of flexarmor had been kept safe inside its stasis container, waiting for someone to put it on. Intelligent, self-aware, constructed with the same technology that enables the gods, it has bound itself to Essa. With it as her companion, she will seek vengeance upon the gods and their servants. Only one group stands in her way, the premiere warriors of the era, the ones the gods themselves turn to when violent problems need a solution: the Hana. Their name means "spear point" in one of the ancient languages, not that anyone other than the Hana would know that. They have served as mercenaries to the gods for two thousand years. They are very good at what they do. The rage in Essa's heart will be answered with the cool professionalism of the Hana. By their battles, nothing on Essa's world will ever be the same again.