The Beast Player Erin

In the kingdom of Ryoza, the provinces of Shin-Ou and Tai-Kou have maintained a fragile peace under Queen Shinou and her foremost commander, Grand Duke Taikou. Taikou’s forces are famed for their fearsome war-lizards, the Touda—yet despite a long alliance between the regions, growing strain threatens to ignite conflict from within.

Erin lives in Ake, a Tai-Kou village responsible for raising Touda for the Grand Duke’s army. Curious and quick-minded, she often shadows her mother Soyon, the village’s chief Touda healer. When a calamity strikes Taikou’s strongest Touda under Soyon’s watch, Soyon faces harsh punishment and the quiet life Erin knew collapses. In trying to reach her mother, Erin is swept away by a river and carried toward Shin-Ou.

Cut off from home, Erin is forced to start over among unfamiliar people, seeking answers about the creatures at the heart of Ryoza’s power—and about human nature itself—as tensions between Shin-Ou and Tai-Kou continue to rise.