Synopsis
There’s no freedom without the strength to defend it. Especially if people have expectations of you.
And Jasto Chaston knows this better than most. As a crystal knight he is burdened by stifling responsibilities and has already rejected them, but if he wants to stay as himself and make it stick he knows he’ll need more strength. The path to it seems simple: Enter the lair of a former war hero, now twisted into a corrupted knight, then kill her and take her powers for himself.
But on his path to standing up for himself, everything seems to be going wrong. Before he knows it he’s thrust into unexpected danger, forced to both rely on and learn from the severely traditionalist knight Epha. Hidden challenges that neither of them expect lie in wait, and as he struggles against them Jasto is forced to question himself.
He’s fighting to be free, to keep his sense of self intact. But how far can someone take that battle before they become a monster too?
Detailed Synopsis
Being chosen by the Crystal Star is seen as an honor, in Andalon. It means the implantation of a Crest, an enigmatic piece of technology that allows its bearers to forge weapons and armor out of crystalline energy. It means prestige and authority, possibly even the chance to command Andalon’s military from the Round Table. It means learning to control your new powers, because misusing them can corrupt you into an insane near-immortal mix of crystal and flesh. It means mandatory training, mandatory expectations, and a mandatory duty to be chivalrous – as the Round Table defines it.
For Jasto Chaston, his Crest meant struggle. A struggle to stay as himself, during his mandated training at the Valor Academy, and to not be bent into the shape it wanted him to take. But despite his expulsion from it, he knows his difficulties haven’t ended. If he wants to keep remaining true to himself, he’ll need to be strong enough to push back against those who would change him.
Fortunately for Jasto, he has a clear path to power. When a corrupted crystal knight is successfully hunted down, Crestbearers like him can absorb the Crest they leave behind to empower their own. But he doesn’t just need any corrupted Crest, he needs the strongest one he can find.
He sets his eyes on Sir Ralica Seafall, the greatest hero of a war that ravaged Andalon and saw many knights fall to corruption. Ralica herself fell in the very last days of the war, and ever since has hidden herself within a crystalline labyrinth deep in the desert. She is far too strong for many crystal knights, including Jasto, to defeat.
To succeed he’ll need both the help and approval of Sir Epha Suncage, a veteran knight that once fought under Ralica’s leadership. Ever since she has been keeping watch over her former leader, and testing any knight who would deign to take Ralica’s Crest. She has dedicated her life to chivalry and her duty as a crystal knight. Everything that Jasto has rejected, in other words.
Even so, he enters the labyrinth at her side. Waiting for Jasto are challenges he must rise to meet, battles he cannot win without learning more about the powers he never wanted to have. And lurking within Ralica’s domain are dangers that neither he nor Epha expect, threatening to turn this trial into a tragedy.
Crystal Grave is a story of power and responsibility, of growth and deciding what it truly means to define yourself. It features intense, close-combat battles where armored knights, flying blades, and unique abilities all collide at once. I hope you’ll give it a try!