Overview

Thousands of years after dark magic was subdued, unknown danger threatens the seemingly peaceful Hilldown Plain...

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Aary, a youth of seventeen, is a captive and servant to the King of Elberkhan, a cruel, merciless monarch with a mysterious past. Living under constant mental and physical abuse, Aary's only consolations are his secret haven, a treehouse deep in the forest, and his friends, Rudi and Lyna. He would risk everything for them, but no one he cares about can truly be safe, when the king's biggest enjoyment is Aary's suffering...

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A number of short music leitmotifs, illustrations, and nested sub-stories completes the transmedia storyline. A live performance of the theme music Kingdom of Elberkhan composed and conducted by the author, performed by the Sydney University Wind Orchestra, can be watched online: https://youtu.be/9I41lpn_9sw 

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Background

This story first came to Yuxiao when she was in high school, as if transmitted through an electromagnetic wave from a parallel universe. Holding the belief that the story actually happened somewhere in the infinite space-time, and that every story needs to be told or it will gradually die and vanish, she felt obliged to write it down. Then, after years of translation work and detail refinement, the English version is finally ready to meet its readers. The English writing was proofread and edited by Dr. Bethe Schoenfeld, an English educator and friend of the author's.