Masks

In Aygrima, magic is a gift possessed from birth by a very small percentage of the population, with the Autarch himself the most powerful magic worker of all. Only the long-vanquished Lady of Pain and Fire had been able to challenge his rule. At the age of fifteen, citizens are recognized as adults and must don the spell infused masks which denote both status and profession, whenever they are in public. To maintain the secure rule of the kingdom, the masks are magically crafted to reveal any treasonous thoughts or actions. And once such betrayals are exsposed, the watchers are there to enforce the law. Mara Holdfast, daughter of the Autarch's master maskmaker, is fast approaching her fifteenth birthday and her all important masking ceremony. Her father himself has been working behind closed doors to create Mara's mask. Once the ceremony is done, she will take her place as an adult, and gifted with the same magical abilities as her father, she will also claim her rightful place as his apprentice. But on the day of her masking something goes horribly wrong.