Aethel - The City of Whispering Towers
Shannon Vargas
Publisher: Publishdrive
Summary
In Aethel, a city of shimmering bronze and turquoise towers, sound is more than music—it's life itself. Frequencies fuel the city, mend bodies, and whisper secrets across dimensions. But beneath the harmonious façade, a dissonant chord is about to be struck. Kiva Obasi, a young audio engineer, discovers a haunting melody emanating from an ancient transmitter, a lament from a future where Aethel's intricate sonic infrastructure has collapsed into chilling silence. Driven by this premonition, Kiva joins forces with Jynx, a rebellious frequency-hacker who can bend soundwaves to their will, a dangerous and almost illegal talent.Their investigation plunges them into Aethel's vibrant underbelly, where even the hum of power lines sings a dangerous song. They uncover a chilling conspiracy orchestrated by the Frequency Council, the seemingly benevolent rulers of Aethel. The city's harmonious existence, they discover, rests upon a terrifying secret: a choir of time-locked souls, their voices trapped in an eternal loop, powering the very towers that define the cityscape. At the heart of this conspiracy is Cassandra Griffin, a council member with a disquietingly serene smile and a terrifying vision of Aethel's future.In a city where a misplaced note can shatter bones and silence can erase a person from existence, Kiva and Jynx must navigate a treacherous soundscape. Their unlikely alliance deepens amidst the sonic minefield, Kiva’s scientific understanding of sound complementing Jynx’s intuitive grasp of the unseen energies permeating Aethel. Their quest for answers leads them to the Resonant Archives, where they uncover the origins of the time-locked choir and the true purpose of the monolithic towers. They must confront not only the Council’s oppressive power but also the devastating consequences of freeing the choir, a choice that could unravel the delicate balance holding Aethel together.As Cassandra accelerates her plans, implementing a new sonic technology that threatens to weaponize the choir’s trapped voices, Kiva and Jynx race against time. The melody from the future becomes their only hope, a key to unlocking a counter-frequency that could shatter the choir’s temporal prison. But their final confrontation with Cassandra unfolds in a symphony of clashing frequencies, where the fate of Aethel hangs in the balance. Will they liberate the silenced voices and reshape the city’s destiny, or will Aethel succumb to a symphony of destruction?
Available since: 01/09/2025.
Print length: 228 pages.
