Gallows-fodder, they called him. Hex means to prove them all wrong. He just needs to stay alive long enough to do it.
Imagine a world in which the Roman empire has survived into the Edwardian era. Ruled by the self-styled Chosen elite, the empire is fabulously wealthy, but decadent and corrupt, threatened from within and without by the native magic-wielding Wilder tribes.
Hex is an orphan, living in the household of the mighty Degaletera family. When the heir is murdered, suspicion falls on him and he flees, hoping to clear his name and solve the mystery of his mother's long ago disappearance. His journey takes him across the length and breadth of the Inner Bounds. He meets with treachery, but also with unexpected friendship, and is even granted a tantalising glimpse of the path to another universe. But when the law finally catches up with him and he is cast into the bowels of the dreaded Interrogatory gaol, it seems that his luck has run out at last...
Complete at 62,000 words. Partially uploaded.