Everyone at Thornhaven Academy knows something you don't: your bloodline was supposed to be extinct.

You arrive as a nobody—unclear background, unremarkable origins. But within hours, the heirs of the great magical houses are watching you with expressions that range from calculation to barely concealed terror. Faculty fall silent when you pass. And deep in your chest, something hums when magic draws near—a resonance you cannot name or control.

Eighteen years ago, House Vantari was destroyed in what history calls a tragic magical catastrophe. The truth is uglier: they were systematically murdered by a conspiracy of noble families who feared their unique gift—the ability to sense magical deception, echo techniques, and nullify enemy spells. You are the last Vantari heir. You just don't know it yet.

Others do.

At Thornhaven, violence between houses is forbidden by ancient wards, forcing conflict into subtler channels: social warfare, academic sabotage, dueling circles with "non-lethal" rules that somehow still produce casualties. The students whose families led the purge recognize Vantari traits in your awakening powers—and they're reacting. Some want you dead before you can uncover old secrets. Some want to control you, turn your gift into their weapon. A rare few might want justice.

Navigate the Gothic corridors of an institution built on lies. Encounter Beatrice Corvane, whose cold composure masks inherited guilt and fear of what your existence means. Cross paths with Cassius Halford, whose golden charm conceals ambitions that could see you elevated or eliminated. Catch the watchful gaze of Professor Fenwick, who survived the purge through silence and may finally be ready to break it. Find an unexpected ally in Mira Solenne, a scholarship student whose grandmother died serving your family—and who came here seeking proof.

Someone arranged your admission to this place, circumventing the Headmistress herself—a woman who coordinated your family's destruction. You don't know if you've been rescued or delivered to your executioners.

Your Resonance is awakening. Your enemies are patient. And somewhere beneath the academy, sealed vaults hold the truth about what was taken from you—if you survive long enough to find it.