Greg_Harris_4507

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.

Where Shadows Walk

Location: The Valley of Thorns, once the edge of the ley fractureTime: Seven years after the Crown's shatteringNarrator: A child's journal, written by a young student of the new Accord

"They say this land used to burn every solstice.""But now we grow songroot here. The healers say it only blooms in places that almost died and didn't."

The sun hung low over the rebuilt outpost. Its rooftops curved like open hands, designed to listen to the ley rather than bind it. Children ran between driftwood pillars etched not with wards, but names — not of kings, but of those who stood and bled when power asked too much.

Among them:Orien. The scholar. Kael. Cassie. Elara. Revan.And a name left half-faded, unspoken but honored — the Masked Woman, etched in ash-colored stone.

A council now met under trees, not towers. Not to rule, but to remember.No Crown. No fragments.

Only the promise: No one bears it alone again.

The leylines still pulsed — but gently, in rhythm with the land. Not servants. Not masters. Just breath.

Whispers of Legacy

"They say Revan teaches shadowcraft to Veilborn children now.""Elara crossed the Wastes to chart lost constellations.""Cassie? She brought frostflowers to places that never knew winter — so the heat has someone to talk to.""No one's seen Kael in years.""And the scholar? They're gone. Or they're everywhere. I haven't decided yet."

"Sometimes, when the ley is quiet, I hear a hum. Like the Crown is dreaming.""But I don't think it's angry anymore.""I think it's waiting — not for a ruler… but for someone willing to listen."

– from the journal of Nalin Vire, age elevenFirst Keeper of the Songroot Circle

or maybe the beginning, again.

Where the Light Settled