Prologue – Twenty Years Ago, The Night the Pact Was MadeThe torches of Duskspire Keep flickered violently as a storm of unnatural origin tore across the sky. The Hale brothers—Lucian, the elder, regal and fearless, and Ethan, still a boy with curious eyes—stood side by side at the fortress gates.Lucian turned to him.“Stay behind me, Ethan. No matter what you hear. No matter what you see.”“But—” Ethan’s lip trembled.“This is my burden,” Lucian said, gripping the hilt of his ceremonial blade, Oathreaver. “It always has been.”What followed was a blur of screams, fire, and a monstrous being of pure darkness descending from the heavens. And Lucian—beloved heir of the Hale bloodline—vanished in the chaos.The only remains found were a shard of his blade… and the symbol of a broken firstborn pact.Now – Phoenix Citadel, War Council HallEthan stood before his Inner Circle—Kael, Commander Mira Ren, Arion the Archmage, and Lady Nyssa of the Shardblades. Tension rippled through the room l