DresdenShadows

in a quiet village nestled deep within the forest, **Harvey** and his sister **Julia** lived a peaceful yet mysterious existence—until the day their world was torn apart. The heart of their village, an ancient and enigmatic **Tree of Origin**, held secrets neither of them could have imagined. When soldiers from the Abadon Empire arrive to claim the tree’s power, a desperate struggle erupts, unleashing a catastrophic surge of energy.  

In the chaos, **Julia vanishes**—teleported away by the tree’s last defense, while Harvey is left behind, weakened and consumed by guilt, believing himself responsible for her fate. Captured by the soldiers, he is taken to Abadon, where he comes under the watchful eye of **Duncan**, a seasoned warrior who recognizes the dangerous potential within him. Yet even Duncan does not fully understand the power that lies dormant inside Harvey—the power of the **Void.**  

Bound by mysterious **energy-dampening cuffs** and forced to train under Abadon’s brutal survival regimen, Harvey must learn to control the force within him before it consumes him completely. But as he grapples with his abilities, **two lingering presences haunt his thoughts**: the **guardian of the tree**, who once spoke of self-control and restraint, and the **entity within the void**, a being that saw him, acknowledged him, and then dismissed him as something insignificant.  

With **no home to return to and no knowledge of Julia’s fate**, Harvey’s path is clear—he must survive, grow stronger, and seek the truth behind his lost sister and the power that now binds him. Along the way, he will face ruthless warriors, uncover forgotten knowledge, and make uneasy alliances in a world where strength dictates destiny.  

But the Void is not merely an ability. **It is an abyss that consumes.**  

And if Harvey isn’t careful, **it may consume him too.**

Through the void and back

Down the hill, back toward the forest, the air thick with an unseen weight pressing against them. Harvey's head was pounding, his body burning with a strange energy he couldn't contain.

The moment they reached the tree, Julia spun on him. "What the hell was that?!"

Harvey shook his head, still trying to steady his breathing. "I… don't know."

He looked at the mark on his hand. It wasn't just a burn. It was alive, pulsing with an unseen force. He could feel it—something stirring within him, something he didn't understand.

Julia paced. "The village is gone. That thing—whatever it was—said you're connected to it. And now you've got some kind of… of mark!"

She stopped, her arms crossed. "So what do we do?"

It had saved them before. It had guided them here.

And now, he felt it. A pull, deep inside him, connected to the same energy that now coursed through his veins.

He placed a hand against the bark.

The wind stirred. The leaves whispered.

And an image flashed in his mind—a destination. A path. A place beyond the forest.

"We find out what this mark means."

And so, they left behind the only home they had ever known, stepping into the unknown, the weight of fate pressing against them.

Somewhere, far beyond the trees, something watched.

Chapter 10: The Hunt Begins