Nameless was born dead. Or more to the point, undead. As a girl cursed with immortality, nothing could be more strange than her beauty and eternal youth. Both most unsuitable for a witch. Purchased from her family at 18 by an old woman, Nameless was trained in the magic arts to be able to lead a simple life of spells, potions and the occasional curse. All while hiding her beauty under the guise of a grimy old crone.
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Nameless was content for many years, living her life outside of Fort Stalwart, a growing frontier outpost, with a small group of allies: an enchanted broom, a troll named Gwurm, and her familiar, a duck named Newt. All was right in her small world, until the day a White Knight came calling.
Wyst of the West, a dark-skinned White Knight, has arrived just days ahead of a ravenous invading gobling horde. As a protector against the forces of darkness, his appearance ends Nameless's days of peace. The goblin horde is just the first of many trials her friends and new ally face as the mad sorcerer, Soulless Gustav, attempts to make over the world in an image of his own twisted design.
The pair and their companions pledge themselves to a quest to defeat the dark plans of the evil sorcerer. The group embarks on a journey into the lands already twisted by dark magic. As they move against Soulless Gustav, the group faces trials, both physical and mental, as the dark wizards' minions and madness challenge them at every turn. Shape-changing chimera attack them in the first physical trial. In the second trial, Nameless is challenged by her own alternate destinies. She faces and defeats the mortal woman she could have been and the cursed beast she could yet turn into. In the third trial, the party is forced to gently kill their own duplicates. As they prepare to face the last trial, Nameless and Wyst consummate their growing love. By taking the virtue of the White Knight, Nameless frees him from the coming battle, and learns that her curse is to consume those she loves and who love her. As she faces down the evil sorcerer In the final battle, Her friends are killed before her very eyes. Yet she reverses their deaths with simply because she cannot believe them gone. In this final moment of trial, Nameless discovers the true power of her own magic and completely 'un-believes' the dreamy reality of the wizard's ordered world. Soulless Gustav's mad interpretation turns out to be too fragile for even the smallest scepticism, the dream reality is unmade and the wizard is defeated.
Nameless discovers the truth of her own cursed nature and the strength of her witchly profession while beating back the forces of darkness. Through the virtue of her White Knight companion, Nameless learns love and loyalty, while fully recognizing the nature of her cursed life. In the end, she regains her former life and remembers a love she can never fully have. But it earns her name, spoken only once by her White Knight love.
Best part of story, including ending:
The contrast of the beautiful witch, masked and hidden by expectations of what the world expects to see.
Best scene in story:
When we first hear the description of Nameless's cursed state from Ghastly Edna, her witch mentor.
Opinion about the main character:
Nameless understands sacrifice, and yet learns about love she can never truly possess, despite the curse placed upon her. Nameless is a true heroine.
