At the height of the Industrial Revolution, a plague ravages metropolitan London and its colonies of civilised rats living under the nose of humanity. The young Meagre is a sign-maker's apprentice. His older brother, Dire, left London with their father before Meagre can remember, and never returned. With prospects dwindling, Meagre sets out in search of Dire, taking a coal-powered train. He crosses into the mist-coated Welsh countryside, where enchanted creatures reign, forgotten legends linger, and the old might of the Mice resounds...

The theme, tone and characterisation of story was inspired by an endearment to Mouse World tropes, seen in media such as The Rescuers, combined with the adventurous, classical good-versus-evil tone of Redwall, and the crossing of worlds seen in C.S. Lewis' the Chronicles of Narnia and the Magician's Nephew.

Much of the plot has been dreamed up while listening to the Frostpunk OST.

I wanted to explore themes of reconciliation and forgiveness, overcoming the dark night of the soul, and triumph in weakness, as could be seen in John Bunyan's allegory Pilgrim's Progress, and his autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (both in the public domain in the U.S. - I especially recommend Grace Abounding to Christians struggling with faith).

I have yet to complete a written project of this scale, but I believe the story can be contained in a single novel, and whilst it is still early days, I have a fairly well-defined goal that I would like to achieve.