I get a lot of comments about the different robe colors savants wear in the story world of Amassia. What are they? Which rank does each shade represent?

This is revealed in various sections of the first in the series, Crown of Bones, and also described again, as a refresher, in Curse of Shadows... but just to have it clear as clear, and all in one place…. here is how it reads in COB, and also a sneak peak at Curse of Shadows!

In Crown of Bones, page 15, we read:

Each banner represents a savant’s robe color: brown like the earth, for the potentials who come in hopes of raising their phantoms. Then comes blue for young students who stay on and actually manage to raise their phantoms. Green, like me, for those graduating to the next level. Yellow for the successful initiates who’ve made the journey and returned from Aku. Orange for the upper echelons of mastery. And red for the High Savant who leads us all.
Actually, not all. The black-robed Bone Throwers are a clan unto themselves. They follow their own rules and traditions.

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Sneak Peak of Curse of Shadows

Straight and to the point, right?

But, thus far, in Curse of Shadows, which will be subject to editing… I have gone a different way. Here is a little sneak-peak:

“There’re too many.” Samsen grabs my arm. “Wait for the orange-robes.”

 “We can stop them.”

“Three yellow-robes and a handful of novice greens?” Samsen sticks his thumb over his shoulder.

Behind me, a group of young savants shuffle. Most avoid my gaze. Will they even follow me into battle after what happened this morning?

You are the Heir. De’ral booms in my head.

My phantom’s confident, but he’s also wrong. “Were you not in the throne room at dawn? You know… when my usurping brother stripped me of that title?”

He was there, alright. Blasting through the floorboards. Causing a riot. Nearly getting me arrested. Not that it did any good. Is it coincidence? Petén, who wears no robe color at all, being non-savant, making his move less than a month before I turn eighteen and rightfully claim the throne?

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And then later, from Ash’s POV, we meet a black-robe close up:

My breath catches when the Bone Thrower pulls out the chair next to me and sits. The hem of his black robes swirls over the floor, brushing my new boots. I swallow and try not to stare. He pushes his cowl back and ropes of dark hair fall to his waist, many wrapped in colored cloth, or braided with feathers, shells and small bones. It’s the mark of a black-robe well advanced along the Path. He smells dry, like desert sand…

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In Curse of Shadows, I have woven the robe colors and the ranks of the savants that wear them into the narrative as opposed to spelling it out at the start. I may end up adding an explicit description, like in Crown of Bones but for now, I’m more interested in what you think?

Thoughts?

Woven into the story, or a full description all at the start? What would you prefer?

Let me know in the comments.

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You can pre-order Curse of Shadows now!