Literature / Night Gem

We are all the same.

"The music... is ruined by all the people."

— Aera

A series of fantasy novels written by Erica Xenne.

In the commune of Ynas, children from the age of five are taught that everyone is the same. But Aera, the protagonist, is not the same, and doesn't know why. Playing music alone, possessing paper outside of class, and even having long hair are banned in the commune.

Haunted by strange yet familiar dreams, Aera can't assimilate and doesn't want to. When one of the commune's adults, Vaye, invites her into her cottage, Aera's world is opened up to new and even magical possibilities of forbidden music and martial arts. Her defiance attracts the attention of Cyrrus, a talented and annoying boy with big plans for the commune and the planet's future. Together, they learn forbidden languages and uncover the truth about the commune and the world's history.

The series contains one novel so far:

1. This Boundary Will Not Bind Us (2022)

Examples

• The Ace: Cyrrus is smart, talented, and everyone loves him for doing the same things Aera gets in trouble for.
• Against the Grain: Aera is not the same, and doesn't want to be, venturing off to play forbidden music with Vaye and read forbidden books with Cyrrus.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Aera is singled out, bullied, and punished for being different.
• Alternate Calendar: Ynas's calendar is different from any earth one.
• Alpha Bitch: Subverted with Doriline, who takes on this role, but, according to Aera, isn't very pretty. She bullies Aera and Gaili, and attempts to get Cyrrus in trouble, but his knowledge of the laws keeps her off his back.
• Attention Whore: Cyrrus is this, and it annoys, amuses, and bewilders Aera.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Aera accuses Cyrrus of this.
  Cyrrus: Inyarya is an idealistic and fallacious concept. It translates to self-consciousness, awareness of who you are.
  Aera: You accept mind reading and magic, but self-awareness is a bridge too far.
• Assimilation Academy: Subverted when, in sewing class, students get to choose their own colours, cuts, and fabrics. Otherwise played straight.
• Assimilation Plot: The entire commune of Ynas is structured around this concept.
• The Bard: Aera thinks Cyrrus is this.
• Borrowed Catchphrase: Aera has a few of these.
  • "Your breath gives you power."
  • "Tabooed, not illegal."
• Brainwashing for the Greater Good: The Commune has Ynas's citizens chant the phrase "We are all the same" on a multiple-times-a-day basis, bans mirrors or having hobbies, and insists everyone cut their hair to the same length, all (supposedly) to promote a culture of selflessness.
• Caring Gardener: Vaye helps things grow, whether it's the many plants in her cottage, or Aera.
• Cool Teacher: Vaye is this to Aera, encouraging her to break the rules and helping her grow her hair back after Nurin cuts it off.
• Crapsack World: Ynas is a miserable commune where individuality is punished, and it's implied that the rest of the world is extremely dangerous. Of course, the latter might just be Ynas's propaganda.
• Crowd Chant: "We are all the same."
• Crystal Ball: Cyrrus and Aera find a magical orb that lets them connect to others far away.
• Culture Police: The commune (tries to) control where and when art can be created and displayed or performed. Playing music alone isn't allowed (although Aera finds out it's not technically illegal), and Aera is actually punished for it.
• Deadpan Snarker: Aera is this to Cyrrus.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Aera becomes less cold to some of her classmates, particularly Kize, once she's had a few years as an adolescent and is given an opportunity to bond with them over art.
• The Dreaded Toilet Duty: Cyrrus and Aera are sentenced to clean the latrines.
• Dream Walker: Cyrrus is this, and it's implied that the hidden star in the orb is too.
• Ethnic God: The deities of the Nestë which represent the archetypal system Aera takes an interest in.
• Extraordinary World, Ordinary Problems: Magic and multiple species exist (although Ynas's leaders hide this), but Aera and Cyrrus's problems encompass things like politics, school, and bullying.
• Fantasy Pantheon: This seems to be the basis for the magical archetype classification system Aera takes an interest in.
• Forbidden Fruit: Aera plays illegal music with Vaye and reads illegal books with Cyrrus. Lampshaded when Cyrrus tries to stop Aera from reading more of Parë Në Sulë.
  His protests only made her want to read the book more.
• Forgot About the Mind Reader: Poor Aera has to field this with Cyrrus and Vaye.
• The Gadfly: Cyrrus.
• Genre Savvy: Aera doesn't fall for Cyrrus's charm, relying on her genre savviness to see through and point out the flaws in his schemes.
• Girl of My Dreams: Aera and the hidden star.
• Hates Everyone Equally: Aera, until she meets Vaye.
• Hero's Muse: Cyrrus tries to make Aera into this, but she doesn't buy that he's a hero and won't play along.
• Hormone-Addled Teenager: Aera and the other teens in the commune go through this. Interestingly, Cyrrus seems unaffected.
• Individuality Is Illegal: Aera literally gets tried for this at the Town Meeting.
• The Informant: Doriline is a gleeful tattletale both to the instructors and the officers.
• Insufferable Genius: Cyrrus.
• Jerkass: Cyrrus is this, much to Aera's chagrin.
• Just Friends: Aera is upset when Cyrrus implies their relationship is this.
• Kangaroo Court: Subverted; Nurin does stand down against Justinar Dinad, who stringently ensures that Ynas's actual laws are followed, but played straight when Nurin cuts Aera's hair despite her only breaking a taboo, not a law.
• Karma Houdini: Cyrrus is this, thanks to all his Rules Lawyering.
• Lady Looks Like a Dude: Cyrrus and Hizad both say Aera looks like a boy.
• Loophole Abuse: This is all Cyrrus does.
• Love Before First Sight: Aera's relationship with the hidden star is sexually tense, to say the least.
• Love Letter: Vaye suggests Aera is looking at one to distract her, and Aera mentally concedes that Cyrrus's drawing basically does count as this because she's been holding on to it for so long.
• Make-Out Point: The commune literally has "bundling rooms."
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Cyrrus is a rare male example, taking Aera on adventures, teaching her how to break the rules, and inspiring her with some hope despite the crapsack world they live in.
• Manipulative Bastard: This is how Cyrrus wins fights. Actually, in Aera's eyes, this is how Cyrrus wins everything.
• Meaningful Rename: Aera calls herself Ivory - a portmanteau of Vaye and Cyrrus - to reframe her negative traits into positive ones and motivate her.
• Mentor Archetype: Vaye is this to Aera.
• Mentor Occupational Hazard: Vaye dies at the end of the first book.
• Mind Reading: Cyrrus can do this, and Aera thinks Vaye can too.
• Mysterious Past: Aera wants to know where Cyrrus came from, anyway.
• Mysterious Stranger: The "hidden star" Aera meets in the orb.
• New Friend Envy: Aera develops this when Cyrrus is dismissive about including her to meet his new friends.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: Nurin. Luckily, Justinar Dinad keeps him somewhat under control... for now.
• Political Overcorrectness: Ynas prevents discrimination by eliminating individuality altogether.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: Doriline is this, and a tattletale to boot.
• Quest for Identity: Aera goes on this quite literally as she creates the "Ivory" persona and tries to understand how she fits into the archetypal system in Parë Në Sulë.
• The Quiet One: Aera.
• Rebellious Spirit: Averted with Aera and Cyrrus. Aera is labelled a rebel, but she isn't purposely breaking rules. Cyrrus acts rebellious, but he's content to follow the rules when they suit his purposes.
• Rules Lawyer: Cyrrus is this, and teaches Aera his ways.
• Suppressed History: Reading history books is tabooed, and teachers (try to) get Cyrrus in trouble when he tells the truth about world history.
• Shared Dream: Cyrrus and Aera have these.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Cyrrus puts a lot of effort into becoming this.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Cyrrus says this when other characters tease Aera.
• Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Cyrrus.
• Sinister Silhouettes: Aera and Cyrrus encounter these in the orb.
• Smug Super: Cyrrus.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Although she's usually cynical, Aera does have a warmer, more enthusiastic side that comes out when she plays music with Vaye. She sometimes slips up and shows it to Cyrrus, too.
• Survival Mantra: "Your breath gives you power."
• Take Over the World: This is part of Cyrrus's plan.
• Third Eye: Sort of - the esil is a magical forehead light. Panther Woman and the portrait in Vaye's house each have one, and Aera suspects Vaye does under her headband too.
• Totalitarian Utilitarian: Nurin, and the other commune leaders, in their efforts to prioritize the wellbeing of everyone over personal identity and passion.
• Traumatic Haircut: Nurin gives Aera one of these at the first Town Meeting in the book.