In the decaying city of Dûnsward, where ancient secrets lie buried beneath crumbling stone, street born thief Tavian has survived by his wits and unwavering loyalty to his crew. When a mysterious client offers enough coin to escape the Empire forever, Tavian and his closest companion Kiara accept what should be a simple heist—stealing an ornate silver box from a nobleman’s private gallery.

But the job spirals into catastrophe. Separated during their escape, Tavian recovers the box only to experience something inexplicable—a sudden awareness of paths he shouldn’t know, followed by nosebleeds and an unnatural cold that seeps into his bones. The box is no ordinary treasure; it pulses with awareness, as if it recognizes him.

When mercenaries attack their safehouse seeking the box, violence erupts and everything changes. Power Tavian never knew he possessed suddenly awakens within him—ancient, terrifying, and impossible to control. In the aftermath, he finds himself alone, hunted, and connected to something vast and dangerous that has slumbered for centuries.

The silver box contains a Fragment of the Forgotten Word—a language of power that once nearly unmade the world. Long before the Empire’s founding, the First Conclave scattered these Fragments and established guardians to protect them, knowing their combined power could bring either salvation or destruction. For generations, secret orders have preserved this balance, while others have sought the Fragments for their own ambitions.

Now the Fragments are stirring, calling to those with the blood to hear them. Ancient wards flicker to life after centuries of dormancy. Forbidden rituals are performed in shadowed chambers. And in distant mountains, a figure known only as the Wanderer grows stronger with each Fragment he acquires, his transformation from human to something far more dangerous accelerating with every ritual he completes.

Through multiple perspectives—from Tavian’s desperate search for understanding to Kiara’s harrowing journey into unknown dangers—the novel weaves a tapestry of ancient magic awakening in a world unprepared for its return. Those sworn to protect the Word clash with those who seek to control it, while ordinary lives are caught in the growing storm.

Thrust into a conflict that has simmered since before recorded history, Tavian must navigate a landscape of ancient magic and forgotten knowledge. His search for answers becomes a desperate race against those who would use the Fragments to reshape reality itself—before the Word that once nearly destroyed everything returns in full force.

In a world where speaking the right syllables can bend stone or break minds, Tavian must decide whether to embrace a legacy he never wanted or cling to the life he’s always known—before the choice is taken from him entirely.