Trae.
A small, blue-green planet not unlike Earth—its twin in both beauty and brutality.
On the surface, it appeared peaceful. Rolling hills, rivers that shimmered like silver threads, and skies that changed hues with the hours. But beneath the surface… the world was ruled by power.
Not wealth. Not laws.
Power.
Magical, martial, or blood-bound—what mattered most on Trae was what you inherited, and whether your body could withstand what it became.
There were three pillars that defined one's strength in society:
Lineage, Affinity, and Talent.
Lineage referred to inherited powers—mystical abilities passed down through generations, locked within blood and bone.
These powers, often unique to specific families, were called Blood Arts.
They could not be taught, only awakened through inheritance.
One of the most feared and respected lineages in the human world was the Hora Family, rulers of the city named after them: Hora City.
For over a hundred years, the Hora bloodline had governed with a firm but distant hand, using their telekinetic Blood Art to enforce order and maintain dominance.
To defy them was to defy the very air itself—an invisible force could crush your lungs before you even drew your blade.
Affinity, on the other hand, was the raw magical potential born within a person—something even the common people could possess.
Fire, water, wind, stone… elemental affinities shaped the core curriculum of the magic academies scattered across the Human Military Territory.
But affinity wasn't guaranteed.
And not everyone had the talent or patience to cultivate it into something usable.
Talent, the final pillar, was the most flexible—and the most bitter. One could be born without a noble lineage or magical affinity and still become powerful… if they had the will, the discipline, and time.
But time was a luxury the poor rarely had.
Hora City, nestled between silver cliffs and a winding, crystal river, stood as a jewel of civilization within the Human Military Territory—a political superpower that spanned nearly the entire planet of Trae.
It was here, in this seemingly tranquil city, where names like Hora and Kolm reigned.
The military territory was said to be unified, but in truth, it was a chessboard of noble families, each with their own bloodline gifts and hidden agendas.
To be born without lineage in Hora City… was to be born beneath notice.
That had been Cleve Coal's fate.