In the kingdom of Varenthia, where magic flows like rivers and the night sky is dominated by the Black Star, fate was often cruel to those born under its shadow. Those marked by its omen were outcasts, fated for suffering.
Rael Veyne was one such child. Born in the slums, frail and despised, he was abandoned at birth and raised in a brutal orphanage where the strong took from the weak. He dreamed of becoming a great warrior, but his body was frail, and his magical aptitude was nonexistent. The nobles and warriors of the kingdom mocked his existence.
But fate had other plans.
On his 18th birthday, after being beaten half to death by a noble's son, Rael collapsed in a dark alley. As his consciousness faded, he heard a voice—cold, ancient, and filled with hunger.
"Do you seek power, child of the Black Star?"
With nothing to lose, Rael whispered, "Yes."
Darkness swallowed him whole.