Ashlords

Ashlords (2020) is the first novel in a young adult, dystopian fantasy duology by American author Scott Reintgen. Set on an unnamed continent, Ashlords follows three protagonists, Imelda Beru, Adrian Ford, and Pippa, as they participate in the Ashlord Empire’s most prominent cultural event, the Races. During the Races, the teenage contestants race special horses, called phoenixes, and battle toward the finish line. While the Races are the center of the action of Ashlords, they are a cover for the social and political dynamics of the Empire—which is a powder keg ready to explode. Through the tumultuous events of the novel, Reintgen explores themes of The Relationship Between Mercy and Power, The Effects of Familial Pressure, and The Different Approaches to Rebellion.

Reintgen’s novel has been met with moderate acclaim compared to other fantasy novels, such as Pierce Brown’s Red Rising trilogy and Susanne Collin’s The Hunger Games. Bloodsworn, the sequel to Ashlords, follows Imelda, Adrian, and Pippa through the war that their actions in Ashlords bring about, pitting them against each other and the Ashlord pantheon. Reintgen’s other writings include the science fiction Nyxia trilogy and the middle grade Talespinners series.

This guide refers to the Crown Books for Young Readers e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, animal cruelty and death, and graphic violence.

Plot Summary

The novel tells the story of three protagonists from different social strata: Imelda Beru, Adrian Ford, and Pippa. Imelda is a Dividian, a race of people who once tried to invade the Empire and were defeated and subjugated. Adrian is a Longhand from the part of the continent known as the Reach. Pippa is an Ashlord, a daughter of fame and privilege.

Imelda, a teenage Dividian girl, is awakened by her best friend, Farian, before dawn. They go to Martial’s ranch, where Dividian riders can train for the Races and practice rebirths, during which they prompt a phoenix to rise from the ashes. Imelda has already garnered some online popularity for the videos that Farian films of her rebirths, and Martial, a former champion, thinks that Imelda could win the Races. Today, Imelda tries a resurrection dubbed “Trust Fall,” and it is a success.

Adrian attends a secret meeting of Longhands in the Reach. The Longhands are descended from Ashlords who rejected the gods’ influence and instigated a failed rebellion two generations prior. Adrian’s father, Ben, believes that it is time the Reach rises again, and Adrian stands in full support. Ben enters Adrian into this year’s Race as the face of the rebellion. He also reveals that Adrian’s mother was killed by the Ashlords after the failed rebellion.

Pippa is the daughter of Prama and Marcos, two former champions of the Races. She lives her life in the spotlight and has recently faked a breakup with her boyfriend, Bravos, against whom she will be competing in the Races. Pippa’s breakup with Bravos is a cover for their real plan: Pippa will let Bravos win the Races, and they will start a life together with the winnings.

On Imelda’s birthday, her family hosts a surprise party. Despite her dislike of celebrations, Imelda has a good time until Oxanos, the village’s Ashlord overseer, arrives. He demands a dance with her, an insult to Dividian culture, or else he will start arresting people. Imelda agrees but out-dances and humiliates Oxanos.

The Empire Racing Board selects Imelda as their Qualifier candidate, a scholarship position that allows one Dividian to enter the Races without paying the entry fee. Ayala, an Ashlord who champions the inclusion of the Dividian, takes Imelda to Furia, the capital city. Imelda’s awe of the capital’s opulence is tempered by a growing realization that the Dividian are second-class citizens in the Ashlord Empire.

When Adrian arrives in Furia, he is disdainful of the Ashlords. Ben’s general, Antonio Rowan, introduces him to 10 people he can trust. Adrian scandalizes the public during his interview by taking off his shirt. The gambit earns him attention but makes him a bigger target.

Imelda begins training with Ayala’s cousin. She is skilled in alchemy and riding but has no combat experience, putting her at a disadvantage. She realizes that she won’t win the Races and makes secret plans to “break” the Races and show the Ashlords what Dividian are capable of.

During the Great Display, the competitors are also shown the map of the racetrack. Pippa and Adrian are trained to memorize the best routes, but the only thing Imelda notices is that the course is near the Gravitas Mountains, where she visited family years ago.

After the ceremony, Adrian is confronted by the god of caution, the Dread. The Dread wants to help the Longhands, but Ben rejected his help. The Dread gives Adrian a boon of protection and vanishes. Pippa, too, has an encounter with a god: The Madness, the god of death and the passage to the underworld, summons a spirit to aid Pippa.

The riders embark on the Longest Ride to their quarters and select their components. On each night of the Races, after the ride, the phoenix horses burn to ash, which must be protected for them to be resurrected the next day. Adrian discovers glass powder in his phoenix’s ashes, suggesting a sabotage attempt.

Pippa selects four components that will give her horse extra speed and endurance and one that will allow it to produce light. Back in her quarters, Pippa meets Quinn, the spirit that the Madness summoned. If Pippa wins with Quinn’s help, Quinn will be granted freedom. Meanwhile, Imelda selects her components without hesitation, thinking about her plan.

The Races begin. Pippa and Bravos take a secret path. The valley through which the other riders travel is narrow, forcing them together. Adrian’s vicious phoenix keeps the others at bay. One of the riders tries to force Imelda into a wall. She uses her Changing Skies rebirth to defy gravity, running up the wall and along the edge of the canyon.

The riders kill their phoenixes at nightfall and defend their ashes from the other riders. Knowing that he will be the Ashlords’ main target, Adrian hides his ashes in a grotto and finds Imelda nearby. He knocks her unconscious, hides her in the grotto, and pretends that her phoenix’s ashes are his. He defends her ashes against the Ashlords. He eventually loses the battle, and the Ashlords poison Imelda’s ashes with wormwood, a powerful hallucinogen, before leaving Adrian to die. However, the Dread’s blessing saves Adrian’s life, and his phoenix’s ashes remain untouched.

The wormwood causes Imelda’s phoenix to hallucinate and run in terror. Imelda briefly takes the lead until her horse’s heart bursts, and it turns to ash. On foot, she heads toward the track’s barrier to wait for her phoenix to be resurrected.

Bravos betrays Pippa, poisoning her ashes and riding off without her. Pippa is heartbroken, and Quinn takes charge. Pippa gradually regains her composure and directs them to the mouth of the cave system.

As night falls, Adrian hunts the Ashlords, seeking revenge. He finds two and accidentally sends one of them, Capri, over the edge of a cliff. Adrian finds him with his back broken, impaled on a sharp rock. Murder is illegal in the Races; Adrian does his best to keep Capri alive through the night.

The next day, Imelda performs the Trust Fall rebirth for the audiences that line the track. She uses her horse’s special ability to escape the track, and several Ashlord officials pursue her. Meanwhile, Capri is alive but paralyzed from the waist down. Adrian decides to bring Capri with him.

Quinn asks Pippa for some of her blood for power in the underworld. Pippa agrees, and she and Quinn enter the caves. The cave system is a mating tunnel for dangerous creatures called sun wraiths. They find another rider, Etzli, stuck in a sun wraith burrow. They rescue Etzli and race out of the cave.

Capri steals Adrian’s phoenix. Adrian warns him that it is a purebred, meaning that it will kill any thief who attempts to ride it. Capri thinks he is bluffing, but the horse erupts in flame and burns Capri to death. For the benefit of the cameras that line the racetrack, Adrian shouts that he warned Capri; he cannot be held responsible for the Ashlord’s death.

Imelda rides all day, pursued by Ashlords. A band of Dividian outlaws rescues her, and they take her to Gig’s Wall, their stronghold. A servant of the Curiosity, an Ashlord god, arrives just before the Ashlords attack. The rebels are joined by a legion of Longhands and fight the Ashlord forces. The second rebellion has begun.

Near the finish line, Pippa catches up with Bravos and throws him from his horse. Pippa and Adrian are neck and neck. Adrian sees a flash of blue light as Quinn leaps from Pippa’s horse, knocking him to the ground. Pippa wins, and Pippa and Quinn grin at each other before Quinn vanishes.

A group of officials arrests Adrian for Capri’s death. However, one of them is an Ashlord named Atl, a man whom Antonio Rowan told Adrian to trust. Atl rescues Adrian, and they leave to join the rebellion. Pippa, too, prepares for war as she and the other prominent Ashlords from the Races are summoned to act as leaders in the Ashlord armies.

Imelda must choose whether to stay with the rebels or to live a quiet life in the mountains. Back in their home village, Farian visits Martial, who is confident that they will see Imelda again.