Abandoned by the Gods by Ronit J

Welcome to Adeva... A land abandoned by the Gods themselves. The mortals that were left behind built a rich thousand-year history full of legendary exploits. But history doesn’t remember everyone. Written by the victors, written for them, history has a bad habit of neglecting many. This collection features four tales of those hapless souls that history forgot. A girl sold into divine servitude who would threaten to change the face of Adeva's history, a noble forced into dacoity fuelled by vengeance, a princess in forbidden love compelled to make an impossible choice, and an ordinary woman fighting to survive through a mad god-king's reign, this collection is an attempt to honour their humanity, to celebrate those who dared to defy norms, dared to thrive despite fate being against them. Welcome to Adeva. Your faith will not protect you. ——————————————————————————————————————— The stories: * Servant of God: Sold into bonded slavery to a temple, Jagadasi discovers that not everything is as pure as she had believed. She turns to her God for a way to cleanse the temple, but the solution she receives is bloody, with the potential to change the face of Adeva’s history. * The Princess Who Loved Her Maid: Princess Ilava is deeply in love with her maid, Raci. When her father arranges her marriage with Emperor Mahamara, Ilava is forced to choose between losing Raci, or antagonising an avatar of God. * Dacoit, Son of a Noble: Bhola’s rich life is uprooted when King Ananda’s conquering forces usurp his domain and kill his father. Forced into a life of dacoity, Bhola’s life is fueled with a singular motive: Kill King Ananda before he ascends to godhood. * Bittersweet Chutney: An account of an ordinary woman’s life set against the backdrop of one of Adeva’s most significant historical events—the killing of a mad god-king.

Adult • Fantasy/Dark • Fantasy • Fantasy/Anthologies

Content Warning: These stories contain strong language, blasphemy, hate speech, violence, gore, dismemberment, discrimination, casteism, classism, sexism, sexual assault (implied/off-page), gaslighting, and domestic violence.