CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

The fall of society triggered a hard, new life where survival became the only focus. We shunned each other and the old ways, killing anyone who was different. We reverted to primitive behaviors, using the war as an excuse to commit unspeakable atrocities, and humanity slipped deeper into the abyss of possible extinction. Soon, darkness blanketed the post-apocalyptic lands with hatred and violence that seemed to have no end. The future, cold and dark, offered little hope.

Survival isn’t a given for anyone as mysterious forces move the gifted pawns across a horror-filled chessboard toward a final apocalyptic battle that will save the survivors or bury them under the nuclear ashes.

An ordinary girl. A rare power. A deadly game.

Fifteen-year-old Asha Olinger has abided by her sister’s rules her entire life. Every day, she works relentlessly as a cleaner to put food on the table, scrambling in the dredges of Althuria. Every day, she wonders about a life where she no longer struggles for a few measly coins.

But after discovering she wields a rare and destructive power, her quiet life is turned upside down.

After years of dreaming, Jessica is finally getting married, but the marriage isn’t exactly what she thought.

Daniel is her best friend, and she’s known him all her life, but he’s never gotten over losing his wife two years ago. His dream is to become the pastor of the church in their hometown, but the small-town congregation keeps balking over calling an unmarried minister. Since Daniel needs a wife and Jessica wants a husband and family, she proposes an arrangement that benefits both of them.

They can get married. They can be build a life together. They can celebrate Christmas as a couple. It’s fine that he doesn’t love her. And it’s fine that she’s not exactly suited to be a small-town pastor’s wife. And it’s fine that she’s more attracted to her husband every day. Jessica can be practical about this marriage. She knows what she’s getting into, after all…

The Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars in England fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York between 1455 and 1485. Over a thirty-year period, England had five rulers, three of whom were killed or executed. Power changed hands on even more occasions as an ineffective king, Henry VI, was subject to mental breakdowns and protectors of the realm were regularly appointed to rule during these episodes, thereby disaffecting Henry’s ambitious queen, Margaret of Anjou.

By the end of the Wars, a new dynasty — the Tudor Dynasty — was born, the powers of the nobility were significantly diminished, and the system of feudalism was all but eradicated. The monarchy was strengthened, and the royal line of succession was secured for the Tudor line. As family feuds go, the Wars of the Roses were historically significant in changing the trajectory of power in England.

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