The Obsidian Tribute

Two millennia after the Great Sundering, the celestial Ky'laran rule Aeridor from their crystalline spires, holding humanity in a carefully managed peace. Humans, relegated to the sun-blistered Lower Spires, believe their yearly Tribute—a selection of young acolytes sent to the Ky'laran's Pinnacle Ascent—is an unparalleled honor, a chance for elevation and service. This year, Lyra Vane, a cartographer's apprentice from the forgotten districts, finds herself inexplicably chosen. For one so unassuming, it's either a miraculous stroke of fate or a dire mistake. But the Ascent is no path to glory. Beneath the Ky'laran's shimmering facade, Lyra uncovers a chilling truth: humans are not honored servants but carefully cultivated resources, their lives mere pawns in the intricate, often brutal, power games played by the Ky'laran High Sovereigns. The Pinnacle is a gilded cage, designed to break spirits and harvest latent human abilities for the Ky'laran's inscrutable ambitions. Lyra, seemingly insignificant, soon draws the unwelcome attention of the four Ruling Scions, the most ancient and dangerous of the Ky'laran. These powerful beings, masters of elemental and astral manipulation, are rivals even among themselves, yet all fixate on Lyra, each for their own lethal purpose. She is expected to comply, to become another tribute consumed by their cold fire. But Lyra Vane was never one to burn quietly.