Wary yet unbroken, a young orphan named Felan suddenly finds himself thrust into a strange, new world of shadows under the tutelage of Damian Swifthands, a stranger from a mysterious guild armed with a legendary magical dagger. In the same city, Lucien, the son of a disgraced highborn house, battles through noble feuds and a dysfunctional home to seize his chance to rise as a knight. Bold yet reckless, Lucien chases after an ambitious plan to revive an ancient mercenary company despite uneasy alliances, deceit, and betrayal. Felan yearns to join his master’s guild but has yet to take a life and his desire to overcome this flaw leads to his baptism by shadow, iron, and blood. The two youths tread carefully on the road to their destinies in the kingdom of Lodos. Under the eyes of fire and shadow will their hearts be tested and woe to the soul who is caught unprepared.