Hi Jessie, I just finished reading all 30 chapters in one sitting, and it is truly a wonderful story! Do you still work for the Army? If so, I hope everything is going well for you. I understand it has been a few years since you updated, but hopefully you will have the inspiration to post another chapter soon! Thanks again for sharing your work :)

Well I certainly enjoyed this story, or at least the beginning :) Hopefully it will stay just as enjoyable all the way through.
I really liked your main character, though your line "at least she could keep her identity secret" makes me think she gave the wrong name to them. She shows a lot of fortitude for someone that was locked up, and I really, really like that. I can't help but admit that I am very curious as to what she did, who she murdered. Hopefully I'll find out soon. I can definitely see how you got your awards from this piece-its obvious that you've worked hard and that you've put your soul in to this. I will continue reading, because I really enjoyed the style in which you write and describe her world. Like the blood on the key. Doesn't seem like a major detail but it brings the story to life, drills in that though these soldiers rescued her, they still killed to do so and may in fact be bad people themselves. BRAVO!

I enjoyed this. As a suggestion, I thought maybe there could strong adverbs/adjectives at time. I also like Riley's narrative. The dialogue flowed for the most part, but it would be even better if the characters trailed off a little. The beginning did a nice job of hooking me, coming from a person with a very low attention span. The plot was interesting enough, and overall it was good.

Are you serious? You're leaving it here? So close to the end? Now I have to go to bed frustrated about a 3-year cliffhanger. Thanks.
Seriously though, this is fantastically written. What I like the most about it is the setting. The steampunk world, the design of the Imperial family and their magic and politics and the aether. It all fits together really nicely and makes an interesting and different fantasy world, unlike any I've seen before. This is really worthy of being published. If you wrote a book, I'd totally buy it.

This story is amazing. i do hope you continue one day.

Write a book. Really. Please?

This...is SO good. Really, I read this straight through. When I got to the end...IT'S SUCH A CLIFFHANGER!

I hope one day you finish this and decide to post it on to FP.

Thank you so much, and keep writing. :)

Another great chapter, now I'm officially caught up about what's going on here. And that's always good, if there is ever a hint of doubt, just cease it in the next chapter, awesome job with that.

And the pace is great, not to fast or slow and that is awesome when writing a story.

Wow, very nice so far, and it really did deserve the Most Original Plot Award, never seen anything like this, and I've seen a lot on FictionPress in my short time here, this is awesome.

And the description, spot on, I'm serious I can not find a flaw in this, if someone can they are a better editor than me because this is demonstration of perfection!

Review Marathon on Review Game Today! (link in me profile)

Please, I beg you, finish this story. Or better yet, publish it as a novel. It is that good. I must know what happens!

Shadowstreak

the escape and the split seem surreal.

riposted

Just charged through this, several hours of engrossed reading. I think the conversation length at the end is especially workable. If Remington's physical abruptness is viewed in light of the stress. He has tensions every which-way, about bravery, maintaining his masks, and looking at death.

I think the timing on the trip is close to perfect. It's nature to gloss over the parts familiar or without mental concentration, and flying the greater distance than normal should be unnerving, but not mentally occupying. I think that is well justified.

P.S. I;m keeping track of your music, and I like it.

Hello,

this probably would be a very weird review, but anyway, i am having an imagination crisis. and thanks to you, and your story, i think my imagination has been revived.

this story if wonderfully written! i am no expert on literature, but compared to other fantasy fics, this is probably one of the best!

i love the fact that this story has an immense intensity! the emotions flowing through the crisis of the story is so strong, it's addictive. and the action! it's so heavy, and it gives off voice like no other fic! and the moods even though it's strong, it's constant. it doesn't go up and down, heavy then light. it's a serious fic, and you know it is! and it's a damn good serious fic!

and then i love the way you characterized your characters. you almost stereotyped your characters (like snowgood guy, remibrooding hot dude, calevil brother), but you develop them, so it's not. i like that you let Riley and Remington grow as a character, and how they step-by-step begin to trust each other. especially remington! even though you portrayed him as a bit Byronic, i like the fact you show at first he was a bit reluctant about riley, but then he began to trust her and eventually love her. and cal! he sounded as one of the evilest character in the story, but you do not use the word 'evil' at all! some fics out there are so obvious! they described a character through and through without needing us to imagine, or develop the idea of the character himself! cal is wonderful! you told us his character not by describing, but by his actions and his essence. like he always smile, but you make it sounds as if he got something behind his smile.

and then another thing i love about this story is that you brought the word 'princess' into a whole new level! riley learns about military, and then piloting, even though she's a princess! and i think that's really spicy an hot. most fics here define princesses as a pretty young lady with no responsibility, too spoiled, and her job is just to marry some handsome prince. but you... you make a princess so much more hard-core. haha. like, she has all this responsibility, and it's not something to be taken lightly. and then with all the political/military play. holy cow. you make it sounds so... interesting! i never really like politics, but this fic makes me think twice. your kingdom is so complex, unlike other fics that take the monarchy system so lightly. it's very realistic! like, you make all this issues among the Seabrights and there's rebellion form inside the empire itself. To think of this kind of plot... you're awesome.

another think i like is how your story has history and magics! and not cheap magics too! and you incorporate these ideas to move along with the plot! magic or aether here is not much of a big deal, but it is never only the side story. when remington was thrown off the cliff, i never thought you would use his abilities to safe him. hmm... it's hard to put it into words. haha. but it's like, his abilities to control air was not something so big in the story that you notice so much, but it comes on handy. and then another amazing thing about this story is that, you don't described tell directly the history and the use of aethers. you don't make the character explain! aethers role in the plot speaks for itself! you don't need definition, you just bring it to action! i used to write a fantasy novel, and first thing i do is to describe the magics. telling my audience, how does the magic works or the government system works and so on and on. and when i read this story, it comes to me that the way you just told story without defining terms is very... ingenious. :D

and back to the plot, it's so complex! and it's not predictable! except that riley is a princess, but this doesn't show that much either, cause she can pilot and all. i love the facts that there are mysterious elements such as the ambushes and the spy in the roanoke. although, when you move the plot, some of the actions are a bit sudden. for example, when we found out that doc is the spy, it came so sudden. he was not that suspicious, yet in one chapter, doc did a big move that told us that he was the spy. and another example is remington and riley's relationship. before madison said, "he's in love with you." i have no idea that he is. before that sentence, remington and riley's relationship to me is only trust. yes, you did imply that there might be romance between the two, they were always bumping into each other, they fight a long side, remington helped riley in several ways, but the love itself doesn't brew yet... as if it was not fully bloomed yet. but after madison said the line, it was as if r and r's relationship was on another whole new level. they kissed, it's more mushy, and riley's start using blake rather than remington.

and then, i love the fact you used technologies! it's so rare to have that on FP! and the technologies work together with the aethers too! it's amazing! it was as if i was reading Final Fantasy instead of playing it on play-station.

so anyway, i enjoyed this story very very very very much. i stayed up late, reading this fic in the dark, finding myself to unable to stop pressing the [ } button for more. i do hope that you finish this wonderful piece of art, for it deserves an ending. i know it's a little bit too late, since the last time you updated is 2 years ago... but i really really really hope you gave me a closure for this beautiful story, cause right now my curiosity is craving for more and more. i personally think this story would make a great action/love movie with some adjustment. :D

thank you for writing this.