Ettian Nassun (left) and Gal emp-Umber (right)
The Bloodright Trilogy by Emily Skrutskie is a series of Sci-Fi Queer Romance novels set in the distant future.
- The first book, ‘’Bonds of Brass’’ was published in April 2020.
- The second book, ‘’Oaths of Legacy’’ was published in September 2021.
- The third book, ‘’Vows of Empire’’ was published in June 2022.
The story centers around Ettian and Gal, two seventeen year olds training to become pilots at a military academy on the planet Rana, former capital of the Archon Empire before it was conquered by the neighboring Umber Empire seven years before.
When an assassination attempt exposes Gal’s identity as the Umber crown prince, the two are forced to flee the planet. As a native of Rana, Ettian is forced to grapple between his love for Gal and trust that the other will be a better ruler than his parents, and the hope and excitement that the discovery of an active Archon resistance movement inspires in him.
WARNING: Several of the following entries are spoilers for the full trilogy and not just the first book!
The series contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Wen Ifan
- All for Nothing: Ettian's plan to lead the Archon resistance into a trap in order to officially secure Gal's place in the Umber line of succession turns out to be for nothing when Governor Berr sys-Tosa cedes control of Rana to the resistance, leaving Ettian Out Gambited and Gal a prisoner.
- Altar Diplomacy: Two examples occur in Vows of Empire.
- Iva emp-Umber uses the offer of a political marriage to Gal as part of a treaty offer to Ettian that would end the Archon rebellion, with the proposal making clear that refusing this offer will result in the resistance being crushed by the Umber war fleet.
- As part of their plans, Ettian marries Wen in order to assure Archon's Corinthian allies that he isn't considering the Umber empire's offer and give her additional power within Archon's armies.
- The Artful Dodger: Wen grew up on the streets of Isla in the Corinthian empire
- Backup Twin: How the Archon General Maxo Iral managed to survive his execution. Only a handful of people knew about the existence of his identical twin brother, allowing his brother the chance to fake the General’s death by offering himself up for capture in the General’s place.
- Faking the Dead: Vows of Empire ends with Gal and Ettian faking their deaths with the help of their friends so that they can be together and live a quiet life flying around the galaxy without the pressures that come with being heirs to their respective empires.
- False Flag Operation: Gal and the Wraiths' rescue of Commodore Esperza in Vows of Empire is staged to make it look as if Wen had personally come to the Umber capital to rescue her and the Wraiths gave chase.
- Fantastic Naming Convention: While it's unknown whether the Corinthian empire uses the same system, nobility and royalty in the Umber and Archon empires use a system where the person's given name comes first, followed by the level of their ranking, and their sphere of influence within that ranking. The latter two are always hyphenated. For example:
- Gal, as heir to the entire Umber empire, has the full name of Gal emp-Umber
- The governor of the Tosa solar system is addressed as Berr sys-Tosa.
- Torrence con-Rafe, one of the knights killed at the start of the war, was the daughter of a continental governor.
- Feudal Future: Two of the three empires in the setting are or were ruled by monarchies, with most positions of government being passed on through bloodline inheritance. The third empire is an Elective Monarchy.
- First-Episode Twist: It's impossible to discuss the second and third installments of the trilogy without spoiling that Ettian is the lost Archon prince.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Gal's mother, Empress Iva emp-Umber, set the entire plot into motion when she declared war against the Archon Empire seven years before the series began.
- I Choose to Stay: At the end of the second book, Ettian attempts to smuggle Gal off the dreadnought so he can return to the Umber capital, only for Gal to declare that inheriting the throne of the Umber empire isn't worth it without him, and insists on staying to help the Archon forces continue the resistance.
- Klingon Promotion: How Gal's mother ascended to the throne of the Umber Empire in the first place.
- La Résistance: The Archon Resistance has spent seven years in hiding on Delos with the sponsorship of the Corinthian empire, gathering their forces in preparation to take back their home.
- Lost Orphaned Royalty: Ettian reveals himself to be the lost heir of the Archon throne in the final chapters of the book.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Governor Berr sys-Tosa serves as the main antagonist of the first two books, but is never fought directly.
- Not in This for Your Revolution:
- Wen's allegiance to the Archon resistance is solely motivated by her loyalty to Ettian.
- Gal ends up helping the resistance in the second book despite still being a hostage. At first, it's because Ettian is the only one in the resistance leadership who cares if he lives or dies, and his continued survival therefore depends on the resistance succeeding based on Ettian's plans in order for him to remain in charge. By the end of the book .
- Political Hostage: Gal becomes one at the end of the first book when his identity is exposed to the Archon resistance and Ettian convinces them to keep him alive as insurance against his parents wiping them out.
- Powered Armor: Archon Knights wore suits of power armor capable of travelling through space. The last remaining suit is given to Wen in the second book to cement her new title as the Flame Knight.
- The Purge: Empress Iva emp-Umber initiated one against the Archon Knights as the opening salvo of the war, wiping out the entire organization in a series of coordinated strikes. Only a single suit survived thanks to Genral Iral.
- Really Royalty Reveal:
- Gal is revealed as the Umber heir in the opening chapter of the first book when several of his and Ettian's classmates try to assassinate him.
- Ettian reveals himself as the lost heir to the Archon empire in the final chapters of the first book.
- Rightful King Returns: invoked by Ettian in order to save Gal from execution.
- Space-Filling Empire: The galaxy in this universe is dominated by three empires: Umber, Archon, and Corinth. Archon's territory was conquered and absorbed into the Umber empire's seven years before the first book, and the efforts of the resistance to reclaim their territory are a core element of the trilogy.
- Unreliable Narrator: Ettian and Gal both have shades of this in the first and second books.
- Wen has this trait as well during the chapters she narrates during the climax of Vows of Empire.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Many of the plans Gal, Ettian, and Wen come up with during Oaths of Legacy and Vows of Empire are only made known to the audience after they're already in motion.
