In the gritty streets of Kallzara, a small wayside town where light barely touches the alleys, Revan Sorna survives by his wits—and by magic long forbidden. With the help of a shadowy tome found in forgotten ruins beneath the city, Revan can summon shadows to deceive and distract, but such power comes with a price: shadows cannot be created from nothing, and his own is lazy and stubborn, testing his patience at every turn.

Revan’s partner in crime, Cassie, is a clever con artist with a talent for ice magic and a convincing lost-girl act. Together, they make a perfect team, surviving by picking pockets, pulling cons, and running from those who would see their kind dead or worse.

Tonight’s target is an easy mark: a drunken sailor leaving The Golden Pig tavern. But when Revan’s swift theft is interrupted by a brutal punch, the simple job spirals into something far more dangerous—and far more personal.

As dark secrets from the ruins threaten to surface and enemies close in, Revan and Cassie must rely on their skills, their magic, and each other to survive. But in a town where shadow magic is heresy and trust is a currency rarer than gold, survival might just mean losing everything.

Circa three centuries before the Binding Wars. Location: The Citadel of Seven Flames, atop the shattered Ley-Spine.


The Citadel sat at the world's bleeding heart — where leyline rivers collided and sparked like fractured stars.


Inside its highest chamber, seven figures cloaked in sigil-stitched robes gathered around a crystalline basin. Their faces were hidden, but their voices carried the weight of gods.


The air shimmered with raw magic, electric and wild.


"The leylines unravel faster than we can bind," said Varyen, voice rough with exhaustion."If we do not act, the world will drown in unshaped power."


"Then we must forge the Crown," said Elyra, calm and unwavering."Seven fragments, each tied to a leyline thread. Together, they will chain the chaos."


"And if one should seek to wield it for themselves?" asked Thane, fingers twitching near a hidden dagger."Power like that corrupts all who touch it."


Then, from the shadows, a voice — smooth, cold, and sharp as obsidian.


"We bind magic with chains of fear. But what if we could free it?""Not control, but release.""Not submission, but dominion."


"The Crown is not the end. It is a cage.""The leyline itself calls for ascendance — not binding.""I offer a new path. One where I lead. Not you."


The chamber exploded in argument — voices raised, spells igniting the air.


"You threaten us all," Varyen hissed, reaching for his staff.


"Better to rule than be ruled," Sereth said, stepping forward."I carry the blood of the First Weaver. You carry only fear."


"Then you betray the Circle," Elyra said, drawing a blade forged from pure light."And force us to shatter the Crown to stop you."


Sereth vanished — marked a traitor, hunted by all.


The Crown was broken — each fragment sealed away.


But Sereth's vision lingered in shadows and whispers.


"When the Crown is whole, I will return.And the leyline will sing anew."


Centuries later, her legacy is a ghost.


The fragments stir.The leylines pulse.And somewhere in the darkness, the traitor watches.


Waiting for the moment the world forgets again.


Chapter 31 - The Breaking of the Circle