Heroes & Harbingers
What happens when a 140-year-old harbinger of death who teaches the History of Magic and an immortal, legendary Irish warrior who teaches Magical Application find out their new student is this century’s Chosen One? They protect her from her destiny at all costs!
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If you like dark fantasy, urban fantasy, portal fantasy, and alternative reality fantasy, you’ll love “Heroes & Harbingers,” a story about two teachers at a public magnet school that specializes in magic in a mystical version of Jacksonville, FL.
Portals & Pantheons
The adventure continues with “Portals & Pantheons,” the spellbinding sequel to “Heroes & Harbingers”!
Meet the Characters
Ms. Sirin
Like all paranormal races in this reality, Ms. Sirin’s surname indicates her powers. A sirin is a mythological bird woman from Russian mythology in our world, Russian history in hers. She was born to be a harbinger of death, but her kind heart has led her to a career in education. Unfortunately for her, tragedy seems to follow her everywhere.
Mr. Finn
Headstrong and impulsive, Mr. Finn (aka Finn MacCool) earned his immortality as the legendary leader of a group of fierce warriors called The Fianna. He also earned his time in Tartarus for flouting the Council of Pantheon’s orders not to get involved in the Great War of 1914. Now out of his torturous sentence, he’s close to finishing up a century’s worth of community service as a public school teacher. If he can just last another decade, he can save himself and his daughter.
Bree
Bree has never known a fair world, but she wants to do her part to bring justice to it. Watching her little sister struggle to get adequate medical care because of insurance issues, she’s decided to become a powerful lawyer who can fight for the sick one day. To do that, she needs to go to the best high school in town, which happens to be Annie Lytle Magical Magnet High School. Just one wrench in her plans is that the Council of Pantheons has named her this century’s Chosen One.
The Mood
Most books about magic schools are about the students. Most books about magic schools are about the non-magical discovering a hidden supernatural world. This isn’t that kind of book.
“Heroes & Harbingers” is about a found family of two teachers and a student who have always known a reality rich with magic, but slowly uncover the dark secrets supporting their world. Along the way, they reveal their scars to each other.
The Setting
Jacksonville, FL is a large city on the northeastern coast of Florida, known as the First Coast, since its neighbor to the south, St. Augustine, is the oldest town still standing in America. In “Heroes & Harbingers,” readers will find out a great deal about this city, but with a magical twist.
Much of the story features two landmarks: Main Street Bridge and Public School No. 4.
Main Street Bridge
The Main Street Bridge is the local name for the John T. Alsop Jr. Bridge. It is a lift bridge that crosses the St. John’s River and allows boats to pass under it, often so that they can access the Atlantic Ocean. It’s known for its beautiful blue hue, which glows bright against the skyline at night.
In “Heroes & Harbingers,” this bridge seems to be an anchor point in every reality of Jacksonville. Though, it doesn’t always look exactly the same.
Public School No. 4
Public School No. 4 opened in 1918 as Riverside Grammar School. Around 1950, its name changed to Annie Lytle Public School after a former principal. In 1960, it closed its doors for good because of problems with noise and access caused by the construction of I-95 within yards of its entrance.
Since then, it has suffered significant fire damage and vandalism. Despite many signs warning trespassers to stay away, the curious sometimes explore its rotting and spray painted interior, hoping to catch a glimpse of a ghost belonging to one of the many urban legends about this school.
In “Heroes & Harbingers,” Annie Lytle Public School doesn’t close in 1960, but discovers they built it on an important ley line, causing it to transition from an elementary school to a magnet high school specializing in magic. In the current timeline of this story, it’s known as the best magical magnet school in the state of Florida.
Hello, I’m A.R.K. Horton!
I write blogs about myths, fairytales, and folktales. I also write speculative fiction novels. You can follow me and my works here and on the social media links below.
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