Studded began with an open-ended short story I wrote a few months ago, which quickly ballooned into a novel. It takes place in the universe I’m rebuilding, the Aleruus Star System, and I think the relational and political dynamics are going to be really cool once I figure them out fully. This scene is from the perspective of my second main character (it follows two storylines), Onyx Andromeda, and introduces a bit of the beginning conflict for her. (Those of you who have read the Studded short story, just a quick note: The King Daumier in that story is now named Julen instead; the short story isn’t changed, but Daumier is now the name of a different character.)
