Title: Ashthorn Logline: Kaelen, a low-tier train
Author:unloginuser Time:2025/04/05 Read: 4897Title: Ashthorn
Logline:
Kaelen, a low-tier trainee haunted by a violent exile, must survive an elite combat school on a warring planet to unlock her hidden strength and protect the girl she’s forbidden to love.
Plot Summary (Spoilers Included – ~500 words):
Kaelen Vey is Level 17—embarrassingly low for someone her age. Her scars run deeper than her ranking though, thanks to a messy exile five years ago that left her permanently outcast from her native Sector. Now, she’s been forcibly re-enrolled at Thorne Institute, one of the harshest combat academies in the orbiting city-state of Irix, known for its brutal instructors and unforgiving rules. It’s one of the last schools left untouched by the planetary wars brewing across Eilavyn, a terraformed planet ruled by factions of gifted beings who wield Veilcraft—a set of inherited powers tied to emotion, memory, and blood.
Thorne’s training system is brutal: every mistake costs you Levels. Missing a class, failing a spar, hesitating in a battle sim—all punishable. And those who fall below Level -50 get purged. Erased.
Kaelen tries to lay low, planning to pass quietly, graduate, and leave. But when she’s paired in combat with Rae Sorrin, a high-Level prodigy with a cold streak and a reputation for making her partners disappear, everything changes. Rae is sharp-tongued, dangerous, and impossible to ignore—and worse, she sees right through Kaelen’s masks.
What starts as a slow-burning rivalry grows into a forbidden connection neither can afford. Romantic ties between trainees are outlawed, especially between former exiles and ranked elites. But Rae’s curiosity about Kaelen’s past deepens, as does Kaelen’s need to protect Rae from the political machinations brewing at the school’s highest levels.
Meanwhile, the planetary rebellion Kaelen thought she escaped is bleeding into the academies. Underground factions are recruiting from the inside. Thorne isn’t neutral anymore—it’s a front. And some of the harshest instructors are secretly training elite students for a classified war project called Silent Doctrine—a military experiment designed to weaponize unstable Veilcraft users like Kaelen.
As Levels rise and fall, alliances break, and traitors are unmasked, Kaelen’s exile begins to look less like punishment and more like setup. She has to decide: escape before the war arrives, or stay and fight for a place in a world that never wanted her.
By the final act, Kaelen and Rae uncover the truth about Silent Doctrine—that it aims to sacrifice lower-Level students as test subjects in a final Veilcraft weapon. With Rae stripped of her rank and Kaelen rising to Level 800 after unlocking a rare, once-banned form of Veilcraft called Threadweaving, the two lead a small rebel cell inside Thorne and expose the school’s secrets.
The story ends with the fall of Thorne Institute’s leadership, but not the war. Rae and Kaelen escape together, but their path forward is uncertain—just a stolen ship, a hacked navsystem, and a galaxy that still wants them dead.
Genres:
Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, LGBTQ+, Action, Rebellion
Language:
English
Originality:
100% original. Not fanfiction, not poetry, not a short story. First published after Jan 1, 2023. Owned solely by author (you).
Target Word Count:
Minimum: 50,000 words
Maximum: 900,000,000 words
Format: Long-form, novel
Structure: Linear chapters with clear level progression and world-building through character experience.
Ashthorn
Chapter 1: Level 17
The hum of Irix’s orbital city throbbed beneath Kaelen’s feet, a constant, low thrum that vibrated through the cracked linoleum of Thorne Institute’s training hall. Level 17. The number glared back from her datapad, a mocking reminder of her inadequacy. Five years since the exile, five years of scraping by, and she was still pathetically low-ranked. Even the dust motes swirling in the weak sunlight seemed to sneer.
The scars on her arms, a jagged map of her past mistakes, itched beneath her worn training uniform. The exile from Sector 7 hadn’t just taken her family, her home, her standing; it had stolen a piece of her soul. Thorne was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance to rebuild, but it felt more like a slow, agonizing death sentence. Every missed parry, every hesitant move, chipped away at her already precarious Level. Fall below -50, and they purged you. Erased.
Today’s sparring partner was Rae Sorrin. Level 427. A legend even among the elites. Ice-blue eyes, a whip-like grace that belied a ruthlessly efficient fighting style, and a reputation for leaving partners…broken. Kaelen had heard whispers: “Rae makes them disappear.” Not literally, of course, but close enough.
Rae’s movements were a blur of controlled aggression. Kaelen, relying on instinct honed in the unforgiving back alleys of her old life, found herself reacting rather than anticipating. Each impact was a jolt, a painful reminder of her inexperience, her weakness.
“Slow,” Rae sneered, her voice a sharp, cold whisper that cut through the din of the hall. “Predictable. You fight like you’re already dead.”
Kaelen’s cheeks burned. She knew she was a mess. But Rae’s words, though brutal, sparked something within her – a flicker of defiance, a surge of adrenaline that pushed past the ingrained fear. She shifted her stance, her mind clearing, the memories of the exile fading into a dull roar. For a brief moment, she saw something more in Rae’s eyes – something beyond contempt. Curiosity?
Chapter 2: Forbidden Threads
Weeks bled into months. Kaelen, driven by a stubborn refusal to be broken, started to improve. Her Level climbed, inch by agonizing inch. Her sparring sessions with Rae became less one-sided, a volatile dance of aggression and reluctant respect. Their rivalry, however, was undeniably laced with something more dangerous – a forbidden connection.
The whispers started. “The exile and the prodigy.” Romantic ties between trainees were strictly forbidden, especially across such a vast chasm of rank and social standing. But the attraction was undeniable. Rae’s sharp tongue softened when it was just the two of them, revealing a vulnerability Kaelen hadn’t expected. And Kaelen found herself drawn to Rae’s raw power, her fierce intelligence, her icy exterior concealing a surprisingly warm heart.
One evening, amidst the flickering lights of the training hall, Rae confided in Kaelen. She spoke of her family’s lineage, their potent Veilcraft – the inherited abilities tied to emotion, memory, and blood that ruled Eilavyn. She spoke of the simmering rebellion across the planet, a rebellion Kaelen thought she’d left behind.
Then, Rae revealed a troubling secret: Thorne wasn’t just a combat academy. It was a front. A training ground. For something called Silent Doctrine.
Chapter 3: Silent Doctrine
The truth unraveled like a poisoned thread. Silent Doctrine was a military experiment designed to weaponize unstable Veilcraft users – those with volatile abilities like Kaelen’s dormant, forbidden Threadweaving. Lower-level trainees were being sacrificed as test subjects. The harshest instructors, the ones who seemed most dedicated to maintaining order, were the architects of this monstrous plan.
Rae, stripped of her rank and branded a traitor, found herself on the run, along with a small band of rebels that Kaelen had unwittingly joined. Kaelen, pushed beyond her limits, finally unlocked her Threadweaving. Her Level skyrocketed to 800. She weaved illusions, manipulated minds, and even altered memories, her powers a terrifying reflection of the horrors inflicted upon her.
The final confrontation was a chaotic storm of Veilcraft. Kaelen and Rae, their forbidden love fueling their rebellion, exposed Thorne’s dark secrets to the world. The Institute’s leadership fell, but the war continued. Their victory was pyrrhic. They escaped in a stolen ship, their future uncertain, two outcasts fleeing a galaxy that still hunted them. Their love story was only just beginning, against the backdrop of a world consumed by conflict. Their escape was not a victory, but rather a prelude to a much larger, more dangerous fight for survival.
