The Legend of the Chessboard (WIP)
During the fall of an Aztec-inspired empire, four teenage refugees begin hearing folk songs that cast them as mythical revolutionaries who will banish the undead conquerors. But they can’t run forever. Unless they unmask the mysterious bard manipulating the truth, the songs—and the revolutionaries and conquerors they incite—will play them and discard them like pawns.
Nine years ago, Ias, one of the many sons of the god-emperor, was exiled after a court scandal that cost him an eye. Yet ever the dreamer, as the Othrinsish conquerors topple city after city, Ias hopes this may be the chance he’s been waiting for: to journey west to the Erakoran capital and defend his empire to regain his family’s acceptance. Rallying other young refugees—Ias’s cousin from a lineage infamous for betrayal, a temple acolyte losing her religion, and an escaped slave out for vengeance—they concoct a plan to escape the siege… but collapsing an ancient temple on the Othrinsish army draws the ire of the Othrinsors and the awe of a growing Erakoran Revolution.
Woefully unprepared, guarding secrets, and as everything they knew about society and magic collapses under siege, Ias and his companions traverse warzones and enchanted wilderness, hunted by Othrinsish conquerors and haunted by a mysterious bard’s folk songs that cast them as chess-themed heroes of the Erakoran Revolution. Between unraveling sinister legends, evading the manhunt led by a relentless duo of Othrinsish Apprentice Mages, discovering lost magic, and budding friendship and romance, the teens race the conquerors to the capital. But as identities and political agendas are revealed, the Chessboard must decide if they are fellow refugees, revolutionaries, or each other’s enemies.
The Legend of the Chessboard (100,000 words) is a multi-POV YA adventure fantasy set in an Aztec-inspired empire that sets queer indigenous Latino refugees as the heroes of a collapsing empire that wasn’t as benevolent as they once believed. The Othrinsors are as if the Qing Dynasty of China shipwrecked in the Americas. Think the celebration of young queer latino friendship of The Sunbearer Trials (2022), the contrasting postcolonial and revolutionary perspectives of An Ember in the Ashes (2015), and the Aztec-inspired anthropological detail of Black Sun (2020). This is a standalone with series potential.
I study creative writing at Northwestern University and am an alumna of Alpha Young Writers’ Workshop, Iowa Young Writers’ Studio, and Smith Creative Writing Pre-college. My work has been published by Scholastic Arts & Writing, Apprentice Writer, and more. As a queer second generation Chinese-Vietnamese refugee, my and my family’s experiences inform themes of queer identity, refugee identity, imperialism, and colonization.
The Legend of the Chessboard is a work in progress! The first draft is complete at 117,000 words. My prospective timeline is to finish developmental edits by September 2026; work through beta readers, sensitivity readers, and line/copyedits by June 2027; and begin querying at that time. If you’d like to express your interest in receiving a query or sample pages, please let me know.
Meet the Cast
Ias Iame Teixec, the Seeing Bishop (17) (he/him)
Earnest, academic, and idealistic. A blind, banished prince from a dynasty of cutthroat future-seeing god-emperors. He wants to be a worthy prince—but his empire isn’t as benevolent as he’d thought.
Azcatli/Anita Paras, the Ember Knight (18) (she/her)
Skeptical, perceptive, and temperamental. A runaway slave who accidentally burned her people along with her enslavers. Intent on destroying the empire that enslaved her, but entangled in that same empire’s revolution.
Sarran Teixec, the Stone King (16) (he/him, trans)
Snarky, irresponsible, and trying to figure out who he is. A traitorous noblewoman’s bastard and Ias’s cousin with powerful telekinesis he shouldn’t have. His mother promised him a welcome home if he betrays Ias.
Maiye of Chimalmaitl, the Blue Queen (19) (she/her)
Honest, dedicated, and bold. An acolyte of the Temple of Chimalmaitl, disgraced after being unwilling to marry a prince. Having lost her original life purpose, she hopes she can still help people as a revolutionary.
Messel of Jusco, the Oak Knight (38) (he/him)
Gruff, rigid, and sturdy. A deserter and former warrior. Having betrayed his greatest value—his honor—by deserting, he now seeks to regain it by defending and training the young teens he travels with.
Tiyaga of Tostos, the Iron Rook (29) (she/her)
Blunt, unfiltered, and skilled. An innkeep with membership to an assassin’s guild, whose stories of her past do not align. But she’s survived the Othrinsish occupation of the Croathoan continent once, and she will do it again.
Moyo of Lanique, the Copper Rook (10) (he/him)
Scrappy, rebellious, and a little lonely. The sole survivor of a youth gang that was massacred by Othrinsors. Kept oblivious of the massacre, he’s trying to get back to his friends—or at least some sense of family.
Koya of Talape, the Singing Bishop (15) (she/her)
Calculated, imperious, and manipulative. The princess of Talape, a conquered nation, raised in the Erakoran court. She’s using musical propaganda to inspire a revolution, but secretly wants to see Erakoro destroyed.
Runa of Talape, CB Banner Pawn, AKA Axolin of Cortamon (18) (he/him)
Commanding, austere, and disciplined. The prince of Talape and Ias’s ex-boyfriend, moonlighting as the leader of the Erakoran revolution. He has his doubts about the revolution, but he’ll always choose to fight.
Eora of Wrath, Empress of Othrins (53, appears 30) (she/her)
Vainglorious, poised, and devious. The commander of the undead conquering army and immortal Empress of Othrins. She and her people come from a continent destroyed by a plague so deadly it is known as Wrath.
Celi Calo (15) (she/her)
Serene, studious, and a hint of anxiety. An Apprentice Mage under Eora with hydrokinesis, though more excited to learn a new language and culture than fight.
Nascha of Hoke (17) (she/her)
Aggressive, relentless, and brooding. An Apprentice Mage under Eora with the ability to augment the strength of her body and weaponry with glowing green veins.