The Raven Thief
Born of the wastelands, Spheris Arnadel, a young skilled thief, finds himself subject to a twist of fate when he steals a powerful relic and becomes a Bearer — humans gifted with powers from the Gods. As a punishment for his theft, he is cast into an otherworldly realm alongside other Bearers, where he faces off against monstrous beasts and powerful enemies. Yet, in his determination to return to the Continent and save his dying mother, Spheris is hell-bent on surviving the abyssal world. Even if it means giving his body to the Dark God whose powers he had stolen... even if it means losing all of his humanity.
• Morgander's Expanded Realm (1)
Morgander Hellbecker hailed from Nestlemoor in westside Ido of the First Wing. It was a dust-choked village — at least that's what it was when she lived there — nestled between craggy mountains that the town of Ido was well known for.
The people there were humble farmers and tradesmen, scraping out a living under the ever-present threat of raids from the nearby scavengers who mostly attacked with powers they had gained from their Essence Cores.
Little Morgander didn't despise the Bearers as most of the farmers did because of this, instead she envied them. Surely it was something of meaning to be indirectly chosen by the Old Gods to bear a fragment of their Essence within their souls.
Morgander was different from the moment she was born.