When history is a lie, how can you know who to die for?This is the first episode in the first season of Born to the Blade, an 11-episode serial from Serial Box. This episode is written by Michael R. Underwood.Oda no Michiko and Kris Denn, two young warriors from different nations, are bound for what they hope is their chance at glory--for themselves and their nations. But their flying ship has sailed into a hornet's nest. They arrive at Twaa-Fei, the hub of a tenuous confederacy of six nations, but one that is threatened by one member, Mertika, and its imperial ambitions. Almost immediately, the palace intrigue begins, with the head of the Mertikan delegation on the hunt for the escaped Golden Lord, the former leader of Michiko's home, Kakute. He is found and, after a duel between the not-quite-warring factions over his fate, swiftly executed. Michiko is glad; she is loyal to the emperor and has no love for the warlord the Mertikans freed her people from. But that night, when she goes to pray to her ancestors, a new spirit appears, and shatters her world.Youth and ambition cannot shield you from the storm. Oda no Michiko and Kris Denn have arrived to take their places on the Warder’s Circle of Twaa-Fei, where the warders are entrusted to settle disputes and avoid war among the nations of the sky. Some conflicts are resolved with diplomacy, some with duels of blade and magic. Michiko and Kris are young bladecrafters eager to prove themselves worthy — Michiko as junior warder for her home of Kakute, Kris as a challenger to earn a place for their home of Rumika on the Circle. But before they have even settled in, a power struggle erupts, a man's head is parted from his shoulders, and every good thing Michiko thinks she knows about the empire comes into question. A storm is coming, and Kris and Michiko stand at its eye. Will it bind the nations of the sky together... or tear them apart?What did you think of the episode? Let us know in the comments or leave us a review on Goodreads.
