Brief

Scarlet seems to be a common 12 year old girl, that has been happily raised by her grandparents. Until one day a strange group of people appear in front of her, calling her a princess. Through them, she finds out she is an heir to the throne of the Londor kingdom, in the magical world of Arfádia. However, before she takes her deserved position, she must find a mystical sword and put an end to the menace represented by the evil wizard Serses.

What We Liked

- This is a classical hero journey, in which a young girl finds out she is very special in an otherworldly magical kingdom and must find the courage within her to battle against her enemies and finally assume the role she was destined to have. The most impressive thing about this story is the level of development of this new world, which has very well-defined rules and a logic of its own. It also incorporates elements of our culture, such as the creature chupacabra, creating a relatable story that might attract younger audiences, if some similarities to other established fantastical stories are better worked upon.
- Film: This would probably work even better as a film, the first one of a franchise or a cinematographic series. Since it mostly comprises the presentation of Scarlet’s adventure and her new condition as a princess, this would be an introduction to the story of the kingdom of Arfádia, that would be later more developed in the next chapters, finally ending with the defeat of Serses and the rise of Scarlet as the real queen of Londor.
- TV: It could be an interesting TV adaptation, especially if it explores the uniqueness of the kingdom of Arfádia and Scarlet’s reaction and adaptation to it. It could be a very engaging story, especially for teenagers, who could project themselves in the figure of Scarlet. However, there doesn’t seem to be enough material yet for an entire season.
- Key points: It has a very well-developed fantastical world; Scarlet is a brave protagonist, who believed she was a common young girl, becoming a relatable character to younger audience; The story presents magical people and creatures, some of them even recognizable from our popular culture; There are many compelling characters, some of them very dubious and mysterious, such as Víctor Copas; It ends in a cliffhanger that leaves audiences anxious for the next chapter of the story.

Synopsis

Scarlet Caspor is a seemingly normal 12 year old girl from the city of Laguna, not very popular at school and raised by her grandparents. One day, on her way to college, she is stopped by a strange girl who calls her Highness. However, she was waiting at the exit with some other fellows to take her to the kingdom of Londor, in the world of Arfádia. Scarlet’s grandmother, Felícia, arrives and says everything is ok, she knows those people. Back at home, her grandparents tell her they are all from the distant magical kingdom of Arfádia. The girl who approached Scarlet before, who is called Tarana, enters and tells her she is an elf. At the kitchen, she meets all the strange group again, from which one of the members, Berbuto, looks like a rhino. They tell her Arfádia is a world created by gods with many magical creatures, and that Arteniel, her grandfather himself, is a powerful wizard.

Scarlet discovers the story of the evil wizard Serses, who wanted to dominate Arfádia. With the sword Zárfia, given to him by a god, her father Alexandre destroyed the wizard. However, Serses didn’t die and his soul was held inside the body of a dragon. After he attacked Londor looking for the sword, and it was almost stolen by the traitorous wizard Fenir, Alexandre reunited some of the most powerful wizards of the kingdom to hide Zárfia and perform a ritual that would stop them from revealing the hideout even under torture. However, they were all killed by the Serses’ forces, and the evil wizard found the secret to localize the sword. Since the magic needed Alexandre family’s blood to be completed, Alexandre’s allies decided to take Scarlet to the world of men. Now the group is looking for her because Serses had found her whereabouts and she is in danger.

The next day, when they are ready to cross the portal to Arfádia, the group is attacked by centaurs and by the cruel wizard Fenir. Arteniel stays behind to fight him while they all cross the portal. They all materialize in the White Forest and go to the Londor Castle. In there, Scarlet finds out there is a spell over her to protect her identity. Everyone that sees her will think she is a boy by the name of Rafael Seixas. After exploring the castle, Scarlet and Felícia meet the witch Miriam, Arteniel’s sister. After Scarlet receives an initiation spell, she and Miriam hold a transporting object that takes them to a meeting of the Londorian Blade, a secret society meant to protect the Zárfia sword. There, she is presented to all the members. Míriam announces she will send a group to retrieve Arteniel to Arfádia. With a key that was gifted to her by her grandmother, Scarlet opens a Kavala chest that contains the heritage left by her father. Among them, a legendary shield made by the dwarfs, a disappearing collar, and a “magigneto”, that points to the location of the sword. She finds out she will have to take many classes to learn about Arfádia’s history and how to use magic.

The next day, she learns about the fílix language with Roxana and from Esmelim about the passage of time, Arfádia's formation and functioning in the universe. The following morning, she goes with Tarana to visit the mermaids with the intention of forging an alliance with the merman, considered strategic for those who intend to rule Arfádia and that could allow her to be one of the rare people to enter the merman kingdom. Scarlet answers and asks questions to the mermaids, who seem to like her. In the village of Indecisive Wind, an old man talks to Scarlet, recognizing her as a princess, and then disappears. At night, Scarlet's grandmother gets sick after eating a poisoned fruit from a basket left anonymously for the girl, which warns them of the existence of a Serses follower infiltrated in the castle. The princess's guard finds the stranger from the previous day, whose name is Palato Rimanor, and he is arrested as a suspect in Felícia's poisoning. The young woman has another class with Esmelim, in which she learns about the weight of things in Arfádia.

The young woman visits her grandmother, who remains unconscious, and finds out about the game with which the gods decide whether someone should live or die. The next day, Felicia is dead. On the way to the funeral, Tarana tells Scarlet about the Day of the Dead in Arfádia, when the deceased can return to talk to the living. Scarlet's father was prevented from doing that by a gruesome Serses ritual. Felícia's farewell ceremony takes place at sea.

The Londor castle is attacked by an army led by the wizard Fenir, and Scarlet is forced to spend the night with Roxana on the beach. They both go to the Dark Forest looking for material for a fire and Scarlet is attacked by a tree. After being safe again, Roxana tells her about how the distances work in Arfádia and also her own life story. They are attacked and hurt by a group of pestrálios, known in Gâmbia as chupa-cabras, but are saved by Víctor Copas. He tells them that the battle was won, but with many losses on their side. They take refuge in a cave until the next morning. Tarana uses a potion to cure Roxana’s wound, but not without much pain. Back at the castle, which is seriously damaged, Liquita tells Scarlet that the expedition to retrieve her grandfather from Gâmbia was not successful, since they couldn’t find him and Ícaro and the ácula were found dead, killed by Fenir. Míriam tells Scarlet and Roxana that the attackers were looking for the Kavala Chest. She suspects there is a traitor in the Londorian Blade. The bodies of the 137 londorians that were killed are cremated in a collective funeral. While they go to sleep, the unknown traitor communicates with Fenir, which promises him to reign over Londor.

About The Author

Jeferson Francisco Silveira was born in the Brazilian city of Laguna, Santa Catarina. Always an admirer of fantastical stories, he decided to create his own magical world at the beginning of 2015.