This is a side novel to Eri's story. Taking place several months before Eri's arrival on Elrich. Here in Rille's world, we see the starting point of Elrich's descent into chaos. This is the true beginning.

I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bad things just happened to me. It was hardly ever my fault, but shit happens, right? For me, it happened to an alarming degree.Rille, the heroine of our story, is magicless in a world full of magic users.Rille is also unlucky. So many things have a tendency to go cattywampus on her. Her own body included. She's not always a she, there are days she feels distinctly male. However, societal conventions prevent Rille from becoming the person she wishes to be. Living in near constant pain from swollen joints, Rille lives her life making soap and hopping from job to job because she's always being fired. Her mother has a gambling addiction but is unnaturally good at it. Gambling has both bankrupted them and pulled them through some of the coldest of winters.Rille's luck seems to be changing though.Her mother, the luckiest person Rille knows, won tickets to the all-expense paid trip to The Island. Free health care spa and a daily allowance to be used in The Island Casino.Not everything is as it seems. Half of The Island is a research base but what are they researching and how will this change Rille's life and Elrich forever?

NOTE: I had to put a bit of a pause on this story because it was triggering me during the pandemic. I've done a lot more work on Yellow Springs as a result. I'll be posting New Eri Chapters soon. Odds are you might discover what happened to Rille when she meets up with Eri. It's not the way I wanted to post the books but I just couldn't handle writing a book about plagues and the deaths of thousands during this time.