Orion Wicklow, 10 years old, lives in an isolated estate perched atop Valcrest Mountain, far from the world.
He is the youngest of a forgotten noble lineage, unaware of their true power. He dreams of becoming a hero, like those in his stories, armed with a sword, not a name.
One night, the silence is shattered by inhuman screams. Nightmarish, corrupted, horned creatures attack the estate.
He watches, powerless, as his parents and siblings are killed.
He flees through the dark corridors, but a creature pursues him.
Just as he is about to die, a hooded man, wounded, saves him with a strange healing spell—non-elemental, almost sacred.
When the child says his name is Wicklow, the man flinches. He hesitates to kill him… but chooses to spare him.
"You do not deserve the blood you carry… but perhaps you can purify it."
The man's name is Kael, a solitary and secretive creature hunter.
He takes Orion to the Lowlands, a harsh world where magic and pacts govern the powerful.
Orion grows up without any gift. No magical affinity, no awakened heritage. Nothing.
He trains hard. Quickly, he develops a rare skill: the ability to fight in complete darkness.
Kael notices that he adapts to the dark as if he were born for it.
At 17, Orion becomes a hunter without magic, but precise, silent, and tireless. He follows the sounds, vibrations, and rhythms of the world.
One day, Kael tells him about the "Contractants," rare beings who gain powers not through demonic pacts, but by voluntarily imposing restrictions on themselves.
"The price is not your soul, but your will. You pay with yourself."