The Salt Crown
The heir to a salt-flat kingdom would rather run the family mine than wear the crown made from it.
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Every ruler of Sallow has worn a crown carved from a single block of salt, and every crown dissolves in the first rain of their reign. Imre Vasca is fourth in line and happy to stay in the mines, until a flash flood takes everyone ahead of her in one afternoon. A short fantasy about duty, stubbornness and a kingdom that dissolves if you are not careful.
Imre Vasca was fourth in line for the salt throne of Sallow and planned to stay there. Fourth in line meant you ran the eastern mine, ate with the miners and were never asked to smile at a foreign ambassador. It was the best job in the kingdom and nobody else wanted it. The crown of Sallow was carved from a single block of salt at every coronation, and it dissolved in the first rain of the reign. Nobody knew who had decided this. Everybody agreed it was a terrible idea and a sacred one.
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About the author
Nico Vargas
I grew up in San Antonio reading paperbacks my tía bought at garage sales, most of them missing a cover. Now I live in East Austin, work nights at a hardware store and write in the mornings before the heat gets bad. My science fiction is about people who fix things in places where nothing works right: orbital stations, salvage ships, towns at the edge of a map. My fantasy is about the same people with swords. If you like crews that argue, found families and endings that cost something, you will probably like my books.
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