Plot Summary
City of Gods and Shadows
In the city of Shadow, gods and mortals coexist uneasily beneath the vast World Tree. Oree Shoth, a blind Maroneh artist, navigates this magical metropolis, her unique ability to see magic making her both an outsider and a witness to the city's wonders and dangers. The city pulses with divine presence—godlings leave glowing footprints, mortals worship at the Tree, and the Order of Itempas polices faith and order. Oree's life is shaped by the city's contradictions: beauty and squalor, faith and heresy, the mundane and the miraculous. Her story begins in this vibrant, dangerous place, where the boundaries between mortal and divine are thin, and where her own fate will become entangled with gods, cults, and the legacy of a broken world.
The Woman Who Sees Magic
Oree's blindness is not total—she perceives the world through the glow of magic, seeing what others cannot. This gift isolates her but also gives her a unique perspective on the city and its denizens. She ekes out a living selling trinkets and paintings to pilgrims and locals, her art infused with the magic she alone can see. Oree's Maroneh heritage marks her as doubly othered: her people are survivors of a cataclysm, their sorrow and rage woven into their names and culture. Her ability to see magic is both a blessing and a curse, drawing the attention of gods and mortals alike, and setting her on a path toward events that will shake the city and the gods themselves.
A Stranger in the Muck
One morning, Oree discovers a strange, silent man in a muckbin behind her home. He is wounded, mute, and radiates a peculiar, intermittent magic—sometimes glowing with divine power, sometimes as ordinary as any mortal. Oree takes him in, naming him "Shiny" for his dawn brilliance. He is a difficult guest: compulsively fair, emotionally distant, and prone to self-destructive acts. Yet Oree senses a deep brokenness in him, a history of pain and pride. Their uneasy cohabitation becomes a source of comfort and tension, as Oree's loneliness and curiosity draw her closer to the enigma in her home, even as danger gathers outside.
Death in the Alley
Oree stumbles upon the body of Role, a beloved godling, dead in a magical alley. The murder of a godling is unprecedented and sends shockwaves through Shadow. Oree's former lover, Madding—a godling himself—arrives, grief-stricken and bewildered. The city's divine and mortal communities are thrown into turmoil, as fear and suspicion spread. Oree, as the discoverer of the body and a woman who can see magic, is drawn into the investigation, her life becoming entwined with the city's gods, their politics, and the growing threat of something that can kill the immortal.
The Godling's Grief
The godlings gather to mourn Role, their grief tinged with fear and anger. Madding, Oree's ex-lover, is both comforted and tormented by her presence. The city's mortals react with a mix of awe and anxiety, as the Order of Itempas begins to investigate. Oree's unique sight and her connection to the godlings make her a person of interest to both the priests and the gods. The fragile peace between mortals and immortals is threatened, as old wounds and new suspicions fester. Oree's relationships—with Madding, with Shiny, with her friends—are tested by the city's descent into uncertainty and danger.
The Silent Houseguest
Shiny's presence in Oree's life grows more complicated. He is not merely a godling—his power is strange, his silence profound, his pain palpable. He dies and resurrects with disturbing regularity, his magic flaring only at dawn or in moments of crisis. Oree's friends notice her secretive behavior, suspecting a new lover, but cannot comprehend the truth. As Oree tries to balance her mundane struggles with the extraordinary events unfolding around her, she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of Shiny's identity and the city's divine politics. Her art, her magic, and her heart become battlegrounds for forces beyond her understanding.
Blood, Power, and Prejudice
The Order of Itempas, led by the cold and ambitious Previt Rimarn, begins to suspect Oree's magical abilities and her connection to the godlings. The city's religious and political tensions escalate, as heretics, cults, and pilgrims clash with the Order's enforcers. Oree's Maroneh heritage and her blindness make her a target for prejudice and suspicion. When Shiny intervenes to protect her from Rimarn's aggression, he reveals a glimpse of his true power—and draws the full wrath of the Order. Oree's world narrows to survival, as she and Shiny become fugitives, hunted by both mortals and gods.
The Cult of New Light
Oree is captured by the New Lights, a fanatical cult led by the Arameri fullblood Serymn and her husband Dateh, a powerful scrivener. The cult seeks to restore the supremacy of Itempas by any means, including the murder of godlings and the exploitation of demon blood—blood like Oree's. Imprisoned in the House of the Risen Sun, Oree is forced to confront the truth of her heritage: she is a demon, a mortal with the blood of gods, whose magic can kill the divine. The cult's plans threaten not only the godlings but the fragile balance of the world itself.
The Demon's Awakening
Subjected to bloodletting and magical experimentation, Oree's latent power awakens. She learns that her blood, like Dateh's, is poison to gods—a remnant of the ancient war between gods and demons. The cult uses her blood to forge weapons capable of killing godlings, and Oree is forced to witness the deaths of her friends and the desecration of the divine. Her struggle becomes not just for her own survival, but for the souls of the gods and the fate of the city. In the depths of captivity, Oree must choose between complicity and resistance, between love and vengeance.
The Empty and the Escape
Oree is cast into the Empty, a realm of utter darkness and sensory deprivation, as punishment and containment. In this void, she confronts her deepest fears and memories, drawing on her father's teachings and her own will to survive. She creates a bubble of reality, a fragile sanctuary of memory and magic, and is eventually rescued—only to find herself still a prisoner, her power coveted by the cult. With the help of Shiny and the intervention of godlings like Lil and Dump, Oree engineers a desperate escape, risking everything to warn the city and the gods of the cult's plans.
The Price of Divinity
The final confrontation with Dateh and the New Lights is a crucible of pain and revelation. Oree is forced to use her magic to kill, her blood becoming both weapon and curse. Madding, her godling lover, is murdered with her own blood, and Oree is left to grapple with guilt, grief, and the knowledge that her existence is a threat to gods and mortals alike. Shiny's true identity is revealed: he is Itempas, the Bright Lord, cast down and broken for his crimes. Their love, forged in suffering, is tested by the demands of gods, the machinations of mortals, and the cost of survival.
The Heart of Betrayal
The aftermath of the cult's defeat is bittersweet. The gods, led by Yeine and Nahadoth, judge Oree and Shiny, weighing justice against mercy, vengeance against hope. Oree's love for Shiny becomes both her salvation and her doom, as the gods decree that Itempas must continue to suffer, and that Oree's life is forfeit if she remains with him. The cycle of betrayal and forgiveness, of love and loss, plays out on a cosmic scale, echoing the ancient wounds that broke the world. Oree must choose between her own happiness and the greater good, between love and letting go.
The Sun Goes Black
The city is plunged into darkness as Nahadoth, the Nightlord, threatens annihilation in retribution for the deaths of his children. The mortals of Shadow, the Arameri, and the gods themselves are forced to confront the consequences of their actions. Oree's sacrifice and Shiny's suffering become the fulcrum on which the fate of the world balances. In the end, it is not power or violence that restores the sun, but the possibility of change, the hope of redemption, and the willingness to endure pain for the sake of others.
The Final Confrontation
In a climactic struggle within the Empty, Oree faces Dateh, now a monstrous fusion of demon and godling power. Shiny, restored to his true divinity, intervenes, wielding the full might of Itempas to destroy the abomination and free the captive souls of the godlings. Oree's own magic, born of belief and love, becomes the key to victory—but at a terrible cost. The boundaries between mortal and divine, love and destruction, are blurred, and the survivors are left to reckon with the aftermath of their choices.
The Cost of Survival
Oree is offered a choice by the Arameri: serve as their weapon against the gods, or disappear forever. With Shiny's help, she fakes her death and flees Shadow, beginning a new life in exile. The price of survival is anonymity, the loss of friends and home, and the knowledge that her existence remains a threat to the world she loves. Shiny, too, is changed—no longer a god, not quite a man, haunted by regret and the hope of redemption. Their love endures, but the future is uncertain.
The Gods' Judgment
The gods, led by Yeine and Nahadoth, confront Oree and Shiny, weighing their fates and the fate of the world. The cycle of punishment and forgiveness, of love and loss, is not easily broken. Oree's willingness to sacrifice herself, and Shiny's capacity for regret and change, offer a glimmer of hope for reconciliation between gods and mortals. The world is left forever altered, its wounds not healed but acknowledged, its future open to new possibilities.
A New Life in Exile
In a quiet town far from Shadow, Oree begins again. Her magic is gone, her sight lost, but she finds solace in art, in memory, and in the possibility of new life. Shiny, now more mortal than divine, chooses to live, to love, and to seek forgiveness. Their story ends not with triumph or tragedy, but with the quiet resilience of those who have survived the breaking of kingdoms and the loss of gods. As dawn breaks, Oree looks to the future, her heart open to the light.
Characters
Oree Shoth
Oree is a Maroneh woman, blind to the mundane world but able to see magic as light and color. Her outsider status—both as a Maroneh and as a seer—shapes her relationships and her sense of self. Oree is compassionate, stubborn, and fiercely independent, yet deeply lonely. Her art is both expression and escape, her magic both gift and curse. Oree's journey is one of survival, self-discovery, and sacrifice. She is drawn to gods and godlings, her empathy and curiosity making her both a bridge and a battleground between mortal and divine. Her love for Shiny, her grief for Madding, and her struggle with her own power drive the emotional arc of the story.
Shiny (Itempas)
Shiny is the mortal incarnation of Itempas, the Bright Lord, cast down and broken for his crimes against his siblings and the world. Mute and emotionally distant, he is haunted by guilt, pride, and a profound sense of loss. His power is intermittent, flaring at dawn or in moments of crisis, and he is compulsively fair, self-destructive, and difficult to love. Shiny's journey is one of suffering, humility, and the slow, painful process of change. His relationship with Oree is both a source of healing and a crucible of pain, as he learns to accept mortality, regret, and the possibility of forgiveness.
Madding
Madding is a godling, the Lord of Debts, whose nature is bound to obligation, fairness, and the keeping of promises. He is Oree's former lover, a source of comfort and pain, and a key figure in the city's divine community. Madding is compassionate, responsible, and deeply wounded by loss—both of his sister Role and of Oree's love. His death at the hands of the cult, using Oree's own blood, is a turning point in the story, forcing Oree to confront the cost of her power and the limits of love.
Dateh
Dateh is a mortal with demon blood, a prodigy among scriveners, and the Nypri of the New Lights. Ambitious, charismatic, and ultimately monstrous, he seeks to restore the supremacy of Itempas by any means, including the murder of godlings and the exploitation of demon blood. Dateh's descent into madness and monstrosity is both a personal tragedy and a symbol of the dangers of unchecked power and fanaticism. His relationship with Serymn is one of mutual manipulation and shared delusion.
Serymn Arameri
Serymn is a member of the ruling family, a woman of ambition, pride, and ruthless devotion to the Bright Lord. She leads the New Lights alongside Dateh, using her status and charisma to recruit followers and orchestrate the murder of godlings. Serymn's fanaticism is both a mask for her own fears and a weapon against her enemies. Her downfall is brutal, her punishment a warning to others who would defy the gods.
Lil
Lil is a godling whose nature is hunger—literal and metaphorical. She is both comic and terrifying, her monstrous form and insatiable appetite making her an unpredictable ally and a symbol of the dangers of unchecked desire. Lil's interactions with Oree and the other godlings reveal the complexities of divine nature: she is both protector and predator, friend and threat.
Nemmer
Nemmer is a godling who moves in shadows, gathering information and manipulating events from behind the scenes. She is pragmatic, loyal to her kin, and ultimately instrumental in exposing the cult and protecting Oree. Nemmer's perspective on mortality, power, and justice offers a counterpoint to the more passionate or destructive godlings.
Sieh
Sieh is the oldest of the godlings, a child in form but ancient in soul. His nature is mischief, but his heart is scarred by loss and betrayal. Sieh's relationship with Shiny is fraught with anger and longing, as he struggles to forgive his father's crimes and to find his own place in a changing world. His actions are unpredictable, his motives complex, his pain palpable.
Yeine
Yeine is the new goddess of earth, a former mortal who ascended to divinity. She is both compassionate and pragmatic, seeking to balance the needs of gods and mortals, justice and mercy. Yeine's judgment shapes the fate of Oree and Shiny, her presence a reminder of the possibility of change and the cost of power.
Nahadoth
Nahadoth is the embodiment of night, change, and destruction. His love for Itempas and his rage at betrayal drive much of the story's cosmic conflict. Nahadoth is both terrifying and seductive, his presence a force of nature that threatens to consume all. His judgment is implacable, his pain as deep as the void.
Plot Devices
Duality of Mortal and Divine
The novel's structure is built on the interplay between mortal and divine, love and power, order and chaos. Oree's unique sight and heritage make her a bridge between worlds, while Shiny's fall from godhood forces him to confront mortality and regret. The narrative uses first-person perspective to immerse the reader in Oree's sensory world, blending the mundane and the miraculous. Foreshadowing is woven through Oree's visions, her art, and the city's shifting magic, hinting at the coming cataclysm. The story's emotional arc is driven by the tension between love and betrayal, survival and sacrifice, the possibility of change and the weight of history.
Magic as Metaphor
Magic in the novel is both literal and symbolic—a means of seeing, creating, and destroying. Oree's art becomes a plot device, her paintings opening doors between worlds, her blood forging weapons that can kill gods. The cult's exploitation of demon blood is a metaphor for the dangers of fanaticism and the commodification of the sacred. The narrative structure mirrors the process of creation and destruction, as Oree's journey moves from innocence to knowledge, from victimhood to agency, from blindness to vision.
Cycles of Betrayal and Forgiveness
The story is shaped by cycles: the ancient war between gods and demons, the betrayal of siblings and lovers, the recurring pattern of love turned to violence. The narrative uses flashbacks, dreams, and confessions to reveal the deep wounds that drive the characters. The gods' judgment of Oree and Shiny is both personal and cosmic, echoing the unresolved pain of the past and the hope for a different future. The ending is both closure and opening, as Oree and Shiny choose life, exile, and the possibility of healing.
Analysis
The Broken Kingdoms is a story about the costs of survival in a world shaped by trauma, prejudice, and the legacies of divine violence. Through Oree's eyes, we experience the beauty and horror of a city where gods walk among mortals, where faith is both comfort and weapon, and where love is as dangerous as hate. The novel interrogates the nature of power—who wields it, who suffers for it, and whether it can ever be used justly. Oree's journey is one of self-discovery, as she learns to accept her own power, her heritage, and her capacity for both love and destruction. The gods, too, are forced to confront their own failings, their need for connection, and the possibility of redemption. The story's emotional core is the relationship between Oree and Shiny—two broken souls seeking forgiveness, healing, and the courage to live. In the end, the novel offers no easy answers, but it insists on the value of compassion, the necessity of change, and the enduring hope that even in a broken world, new life can begin.
Last updated:
