The Academy of Arcanum was supposed to be a beginning.
For Lucien Marrowick and Clarette Ashveil—two orphans marked Veilborn beneath the Loom—it is a crucible of names, power, and judgment.
Here, dynasties rule the galleries, every mistake is remembered, and every triumph is tested in fire and blood. Together, they carve a place for themselves among heirs and rivals, each lesson sharpening their will, each trial demanding more than survival.
But power does not come without cost.
Whispers follow them. Adepts take notice. And as the Loom crowns one in light and brands the other jagged in scarlet, fault lines form between them.
By the time the first trial ends, friendship hardens into something more fragile—something that may not survive the Academy’s gaze.
Because the Academy doesn’t only forge strength.
It forges fractures.
