The Waykeepers
Claira Cruz has spent her life keeping part of herself locked away; a light that rises from within her, spilling out as fireflies she cannot always control and was never supposed to let show. She has been taught that containing it will keep her safe. She is about to learn that gifts cannot fulfill their purpose by hiding.
Bardo Bellatore has spent his life sensing the darkness others cannot see. Raised in Malecon and dismissed as a tide rat, he has come to believe his familiarity with it confirms what others have always assumed: that darkness recognizes something in him because he belongs to it.
After a mysterious crossing brings them both to Sanctum Academy, Claira and Bardo expect answers. Instead, they enter an ancient institution where the gifted are trained not merely to master their abilities, but to answer a calling and use them in service of the Way. It is a world shaped by discipline, legacy, and rules neither fully understands; one where gifts like theirs inspire as much suspicion as wonder.
Beyond the academy’s carefully guarded boundaries, something old is stirring. It leaves unnatural traces in its wake, seems to recognize Bardo, and responds to Claira’s light as though it has been waiting for its return. As the signs become impossible to ignore and their paths become increasingly entwined, Claira and Bardo must decide whether the gifts they were taught to fear are burdens to escape or callings they are finally ready to answer.