Was absolutely captivated by this work, from front to back. I'm not often a reader (I want to change that!) and therefore have not left a remotely long-form review on a novel before, but there's so much I love about this that I just want to admire. I love the dynamics of Dorian and Avery, and how the former's shortcomings get more prevalent as the chapters progress. Hell, I love just about all of the characters; you can practically feel the layers of each and every one of them. I adore the worldbuilding, the little details, the vivid pictures presented in word alone. This is the only work I'm aware of within the MAL contest, I just got here, but it really feels like a deserved winner and a lovely way to have binged through my afternoon, evening and night.

There are a couple things up in the air for me--things springing to mind are like, "it doesn't seem like Avery to up and steal something, and it sounds like he held that against Dorian later, why" or "the end of Chapter 10 feels like a copout, even if it's then absolutely integrated into the world" or "I would love to hear how Rowan might have made it to Dorian in the end" but, again, I'm not much a reader and am going to assume something went over my head. It's not anything that took away from the beautifully written world of Lugus, and it's something I would heartily recommend indulging yourself into.