Masterpiece/Outline

The world of Achlys has been thrown into turmoil. The Nobles system, which has served them well for ages, has been disrupted: a desperate mother snuck her child, one day too old to qualify for the Nobility, into the system. The child was exterminated, and the civilians have begun to revolt. Cat, the ruler of the Ivory Kingdom, has found his position in danger of being torn out from under him.

Enter Neganti, daughter of two Nobles but not a Noble herself. Having learned everything her Noble parents know, she's just as smart as any Noble child, if not smarter. Here's the trick: Her parents died five years ago, and Neganti has been living on the streets ever since. She now has not only the knowledge of the Nobles, but also all the knowledge of the Nihil Corps - the band of poor thieves she joined as soon as she left her parents' mansion.

Armed with this broad understanding of the world, Neganti has a unique perspective on the kingdom's situation: Cat needs to be dethroned, but a new leader must not be put in place. Doing that, she decides, could even be worse than letting Cat continue to reign unchecked.

So naturally, being an outcast of good standing, she decides to take the wrath of the world upon herself.

Timeline:

-the previous ruler of the Ivory Kingdom, Hanris, abruptly passed away

-his only heir, Cat, was crowned and assumed the throne

-Cat decreed a change in the draft age to allow more imperial guards

-Achlys' other major country, Rennre, invaded the Ivory Kingdom

-the new recruits failed to react and were all murdered

-the citizens of the Ivory Kingdom began to wonder about Cat's leadership

-Cat increased the quota of Nobles-in-training to at least 80% of the total generation

-a desperate widow snuck her child into the Nobles training program

-Neganti was born to two Nobles on the outskirts of the capital city, Avalea

-Rennre launched a full-on war against the Ivory Kingdom

-Cat's forces managed to beat the Rennish fleet at a port just off of Schliga

-the Rennish forces returned to utterly crush the Ivory Kingdom's navy

-Cat called a truce, inviting the Rennish leaders into the Ivory Palace

-every single Rennish official was murdered within the palace walls

-Cat ordered the army to take over the officials' ships and invade Rennre

-the country of Rennre was invaded and destroyed in the ultimate bloodbath

-the remaining Rennish citizens were enslaved

-Cat ordered an investigation of the Nobles-in-training to ensure their competency

-the fake Noble child was discovered and killed

-Neganti's parents began working on a falsifying system in secret

-Cat issued a decree that all houses be periodically inspected for treasonous objects

-Neganti's parents made a deal with their neighbors to protect the device

-One of their neighbors was caught carrying the device and was executed publicly

-Neganti's parents moved out to the countryside

-Neganti began her secret education about the Nobility

-a local farmer planned a holiday party for those living nearby

-Neganti asked her parents for permission to go and was denied

-Neganti snuck out with the help of the local children and attended the party

-Neganti mentioned that Cat paid the Nobles to hide their knowledge

-rumors that the bribery was actually happening reached the palace

-Cat began a search through Rennre and the Ivory Kingdom for the source of the rumors

-Neganti's parents requested a transfer to Rennre for research purposes

-Neganti's parents packed for the trip and boarded their boat

-Neganti's parents lectured her about keeping their secrets

-Cat ordered a ban on all travel between countries

-Neganti's boat was returned to the Ivory Kingdom

-all of the passengers were thoroughly investigated

-Neganti's parents were found to be connected with the falsifying system

-Neganti's parents were executed as an example

-Neganti was put into an orphanage and closely monitored

-Neganti met Eben, who told her about the Nihil Corps

-Eben was "adopted" by a high-ranking Ivory Kingdom officer

-Eben gave Neganti five rocks carved with directions for finding the Nihil Corps

-Eben was killed in front of the orphanage for being a spy

-Neganti bided her time in the orphanage

-Salans came into the orphanage

-Salans helped Neganti escape punishment for breaking curfew

-Neganti shared the rocks with Salans and her friend Tiniki

-Salans, Neganti, and Tiniki formulated an escape plan

-the guards rotated for the first time in a year

-Neganti, Tiniki and Salans slipped out of the orphanage

-Salans's leg was shot during the escape

-Neganti used her parents' money to buy a room for Salans to stay in

-Neganti followed the clues on the rocks and browsed Avalea for the Nihil Corps

-Neganti found Kasper, an agent for the Nihil Corps

-Kasper splinted Salans's leg and tucked instructions inside the cast

-Tiniki stole the instructions and ran off

-Salans fell into a deep depression

-Neganti went back to Kasper and asked for help

-Kasper helped Neganti track Tiniki down

-Kasper killed Tiniki to get the instructions back

-Neganti returned to the room to find that Salans had committed suicide

-Neganti left Salans's body to track down the Nihil Corps

-Neganti followed the next clue to the catacombs under Avalea

-Neganti met a Nihil Corps agent called Devon who guided her around underground

-Neganti emerged from the catacombs and found herself on the shores