Review Detail of Tanelornian in Nameless Hypocrite

I very much like that this starts with Eight already in deep trouble. And some of his responses to his situation are really strong, like: "...he knew he wouldn’t last many more weeks of this menial work. He needed to escape, but he could only wait for the right opportunity. There was a difference between escape and freedom." (I love that last line.) I'm not sure 'brick' is the right word. To me a brick is small. Maybe 'slab?' Stone slab? I know this is a villain's story, but I stil wonder if a few moments of softness wouldn't actually make it more effective--including more effectively villainous. I like the tension between the use of 'planet,' which implies sf and 'mana-core,' which implies fantasy. Makes me want to keep reading to find out where exactly we are! Oh, and 'trading injury for injury' is a grippy concept. I don't know if you develop it but it definitely sparks my curiosity!