Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using nayada.org (the "Site"), you agree to these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to any part of these Terms, do not use the Site. These Terms apply to all visitors, newsletter subscribers, and customers of any premium content we offer.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to browse the Site. You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction, whichever is greater) to subscribe to the newsletter, purchase premium content, or otherwise enter into any contractual transaction through the Site. By using the Site you represent that you meet these age requirements and that you have the legal capacity and authority to enter into a binding agreement. The Site is intended for use in jurisdictions where it is legal; you are responsible for compliance with any local laws applicable to your access.

3. About the Site

The Site is operated by Tom Cavanaugh, author of The Chronicles of Evereska, in association with Spines Publishing. The Site provides information about Mr. Cavanaugh's books, characters, and worldbuilding, with optional newsletter subscription, contact form, premium content features, and AI-assisted features.

4. Intellectual Property

The novels, characters, world, lore, code, fonts, and visuals on the Site are protected by copyright and trademark law and remain owned by Tom Cavanaugh and/or Spines Publishing. The protected materials include, without limitation:

• The text, plot, characters, settings, and dialogue of The Chronicles of Evereska book series.
• Original artwork, ship designs, character designs, maps, and worldbuilding materials.
• The Evereska Lexicon font (constructed alphabet) and any associated linguistic content.
• The "Republic Archives," cipher elements, and related lore presentation.
• Site design, code, copy, photography, video, and audio elements.

What You Can Do - Free Expression Is Welcome

You don't need our permission to do any of the things you would normally expect to be able to do with a book or site you engage with. We actively welcome:

• Quoting, reviewing, criticizing, parodying, mocking, and analyzing the books, characters, and Site in any format - book club discussions, YouTube video essays, BookTube and BookTok content, Bookstagram posts, podcasts, blog reviews, news articles, academic papers, and similar.
• Monetizing your own commentary is fine. If you take sponsorships, run ad revenue, sell paid subscriptions, run a Patreon, use affiliate links, or otherwise earn money from a channel, podcast, blog, or publication that discusses the books, that is allowed. Being paid for your creative or critical work does not affect your fair-use right to discuss ours. (This is different from selling our actual content - see the next section.)
• Negative, satirical, derisive, or outright hostile takes are equally welcome - including content that ridicules the books, the world, or the author. This is your free-expression right and we will not use these Terms to suppress it. The only limit is defamation (knowingly false statements of fact, presented as true, that injure reputation). Opinion, criticism, parody, hyperbole, and satire are not defamation and remain fully protected.
• Sharing book covers and short quotes when recommending or discussing the books on social media, blogs, podcasts, and similar platforms.
• Non-commercial fan creativity - fan art, fan fiction, cosplay, fan-made wikis, and other transformative fan works for personal enjoyment and within fan communities.
• Educational and accessibility uses recognized under fair use, fair dealing, or similar exceptions in your jurisdiction.

What You May Not Do

• Copy or republish substantial portions of the books or Site content as if they were your own work.
• Sell, license, or commercially distribute our actual content itself - for example, republishing the book, selling unauthorized merchandise featuring our characters or artwork, or distributing AI-generated derivatives that closely reproduce our characters, world, or text. (Monetizing your own original commentary, reviews, or criticism about the books is allowed and is described above; this restriction is about selling our work, not yours.)
• Use our trademarks, character names, cover art, or branding to promote unrelated products or services in a way that suggests endorsement or partnership.
• Strip, bypass, or circumvent any technical protections on premium content, or share access credentials.

Nothing in this Section is intended to restrict any rights you have under copyright law, including fair use under U.S. law, fair dealing under UK/Commonwealth law, or similar exceptions in your jurisdiction. If you are unsure whether a particular use is allowed, contact info@nayada.org - we'd rather have a friendly conversation than a takedown notice.

5. Reservation of Rights

All rights not expressly granted to you in these Terms are reserved by us. No license to any of our intellectual property is granted to you by implication, estoppel, course of dealing, or otherwise.

6. DMCA / Copyright Infringement Notices

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that content available through the Site infringes your copyright, you may submit a written notice to info@nayada.org containing the following information required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3):

1. Your full name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed.
3. The specific URL or location on the Site of the allegedly infringing material.
4. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
5. A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf.
6. Your physical or electronic signature.

We will review valid notices and respond within a reasonable time. We may also forward notices to the alleged infringer. False or misleading notices may result in legal liability for the submitter under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f).

7. User Submissions

When you submit information through the Site (newsletter signup, contact form messages, AI prompts, or otherwise), you:

• Confirm that the information you provide is accurate, lawful, and submitted by you (or with proper authorization).
• Grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use that information for the purpose of operating the Site (responding to your message, fulfilling the newsletter you requested, processing your purchase, etc.).
• Acknowledge that messages submitted through the contact form or other forms are not confidential and may be reviewed by us or our service providers.

You agree not to submit content that is unlawful, threatening, defamatory, harassing, infringing, obscene, fraudulent, or malicious (including malware or attempts to compromise the Site).

8. Feedback

If you submit ideas, suggestions, feedback, story concepts, character proposals, or any other materials about the Site, the books, or future works ("Feedback"), you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, publish, and exploit the Feedback for any purpose, in any media, without obligation of compensation, attribution, or further consent. We are not obligated to respond to or act on any Feedback. You waive any "moral rights" or similar rights in the Feedback to the extent permitted by law.

9. Account Security

If we offer accounts to access premium content or other features, you are responsible for: (a) maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials; (b) all activity that occurs under your account, whether or not authorized; and (c) notifying us immediately at info@nayada.org of any unauthorized access, suspected breach, or loss of credentials. We may suspend, lock, or terminate accounts that show signs of compromise, abuse, or violation of these Terms. You may not create multiple accounts to evade restrictions.

10. Premium Content & Payments

If the Site offers premium content for purchase:

• Pricing, descriptions, and terms applicable to a given premium item are displayed at the point of purchase.
• Payments are processed by our third-party payment processor ([PAYMENT PROCESSOR, e.g. Stripe]) under their own terms of service and privacy policy. We do not store your full payment card data.
• Licenses to premium content are personal, non-transferable, and non-sublicensable. You may not redistribute, resell, or share access credentials.
• Refund policy: Premium content purchases are generally non-refundable once you have accessed, downloaded, or unlocked the content. If you have not yet accessed the content, you may request a refund within fourteen (14) days of purchase by contacting info@nayada.org with your order details. Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method and typically appear within 5–10 business days. Consumers in the European Union, EEA, and UK may have additional withdrawal or refund rights under applicable consumer protection law, which are not affected by this policy.
• We may revoke access to premium content in cases of payment fraud, abuse of access, chargeback abuse, or violation of these Terms.
• You authorize us and our payment processor to charge the payment method you provide for all amounts due, including applicable taxes. You represent that you are authorized to use the payment method.

11. Electronic Communications Consent

By using the Site, you consent to receive communications from us electronically - including by email, in-Site notices, and transactional messages relating to your newsletter subscription or premium purchases. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications we provide electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing or be signed. You may withdraw consent for marketing emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in those emails; transactional, security, and legal notices necessary to operate the Site or your account will continue.

12. AI-Assisted Features

The Site may offer AI-powered features such as a chat assistant, content generation, or recommendation tools. By using these features, you acknowledge and agree that:

• AI-generated responses may be inaccurate, incomplete, fabricated, or biased. They are provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be treated as professional, legal, medical, or financial advice.
• Your prompts and inputs may be sent to a third-party AI provider for processing.
• You will not submit personal information about others, confidential information, or content you do not have the right to share.
• We may log AI interactions for safety, abuse prevention, and quality improvement, subject to the Privacy Policy.
• Output generated by the AI features about The Chronicles of Evereska remains subject to the intellectual property terms in Section 4.

13. Third-Party Links

The Site contains links to third-party retailers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, Indigo, Waterstones, Spines Publishing, and others) and other external sites. When you click those links, you leave the Site and become subject to the terms and privacy policies of the destination site. We are not responsible for the content, terms, practices, products, or services of third-party sites and do not endorse them by linking.

14. Disclaimers

The Site and all content, features, and services are provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, or uninterrupted availability. We do not warrant that the Site will be free of errors, defects, viruses, or interruptions, that defects will be corrected, or that any information obtained through the Site is reliable.

15. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Tom Cavanaugh, Spines Publishing, and our affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, revenue, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or in connection with your use of (or inability to use) the Site, regardless of the legal theory and even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Our total aggregate liability for any direct damages will not exceed the greater of (a) USD $100 or (b) the amount you paid us in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above may not apply to you. The limitations in this Section apply to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

16. Equitable Relief

You acknowledge that any unauthorized use of our intellectual property, breach of confidentiality, or other violation of Sections 4, 5, 7, 8, or 10 may cause irreparable harm for which monetary damages would be inadequate. We are entitled to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in addition to any other remedies available at law or in equity, without the requirement to post bond or prove actual damages.

17. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Tom Cavanaugh, Spines Publishing, and our affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the Site, including any AI-assisted features or premium content; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any rights of a third party, including intellectual property or privacy rights; or (d) any content you submit to the Site.

18. Accessibility Statement

We are committed to making the Site usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. We aim to follow recognized accessibility guidelines such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at the AA level where reasonable.

If you encounter an accessibility barrier on the Site - for example, content that does not work properly with a screen reader, video without captions, or color contrast issues - please contact info@nayada.org with a description of the issue and the URL where you encountered it. We will make reasonable efforts to address the issue and provide the information or functionality through an alternative accessible means where possible.

19. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Site (including any newsletter subscription or premium content access) at any time and for any reason, including violation of these Terms. You may stop using the Site at any time. Sections that by their nature should survive termination - including Intellectual Property, Reservation of Rights, User Submissions, Feedback, Disclaimers, Limitation of Liability, Equitable Relief, Indemnification, and Governing Law - will continue to apply.

20. Force Majeure

We will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes outside our reasonable control, including natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism, civil unrest, government actions, labor disputes, internet or telecommunications outages, supplier failures, cyberattacks, or pandemic-related disruptions.

21. Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or any rights under them without our prior written consent, and any attempted assignment without consent is void. We may assign these Terms to an affiliate, successor entity, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or other corporate transaction without notice to you. These Terms bind and benefit each party's permitted successors and assigns.

22. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or if it cannot be modified, it will be severed from these Terms. The remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

23. No Waiver

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that right or provision. A waiver of any provision will be effective only if made in writing and signed by an authorized representative, and will apply only to the specific instance and purpose stated.

24. Cumulative Remedies

All rights and remedies under these Terms are cumulative and are in addition to (and not in lieu of) any other rights and remedies available at law, in equity, or by statute. The exercise of one remedy does not preclude the exercise of any other.

25. No Third-Party Beneficiaries

These Terms are for the benefit of you and us only. No third party has any right to enforce any provision of these Terms, except that Spines Publishing and our affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents are intended third-party beneficiaries of the Disclaimers, Limitation of Liability, and Indemnification provisions and may enforce those provisions directly.

26. Notices

Any notice from you to us must be sent by email to info@nayada.org and is deemed given when actually received by us. We may give notice to you by email to the address associated with your newsletter subscription or premium account, by posting on the Site, or by any other reasonable means; notice from us is deemed given when sent or posted.

27. Headings & Construction

Section headings are inserted for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of these Terms. The words "including," "such as," and "for example" are illustrative, not limiting, and do not restrict the generality of any preceding term. The singular includes the plural and vice versa. Any ambiguity in these Terms will not be construed against the drafting party.

28. Language

These Terms are written and executed in the English language. Any translation provided for convenience does not modify the English version, which controls in case of any conflict between versions. All communications, notices, and dispute submissions to us must be in English.

29. Class Action Waiver & Informal Resolution

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you and we each agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Site will be resolved on an individual basis only. You waive any right to participate in a class, collective, consolidated, or representative action, and you may not act as a class representative or member.

Before filing any legal action, you agree to first contact us at info@nayada.org with a written description of the dispute and your contact information, and to attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least thirty (30) days before initiating any formal proceeding.

This Section does not apply where prohibited by applicable law. Some jurisdictions do not enforce class action waivers; if a court of competent jurisdiction finds the class action waiver unenforceable, the dispute will proceed in court but only on an individual basis to the maximum extent allowed.

30. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any specific terms presented at the point of purchase for premium content, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Site and supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications, understandings, and proposals on the subject.

31. Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to Section 29 (Class Action Waiver & Informal Resolution), any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Site will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Fairfax County, Virginia, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.

32. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be reflected in the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. Where required by law, we may provide additional notice (such as an email to active newsletter subscribers or a banner on the Site). Your continued use of the Site after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Site.

33. Contact

Questions about these Terms:

info@nayada.org

Last updated: April 27, 2026