Prologue

The Black Death wasn’t just a plague, it was an apocalypse. Death swept across the world like a storm, leaving behind nothing but sorrow and devastation. By the time the disease finally loosened its grip in the late 14th century, nearly seventy percent of the population had been wiped out. Once bustling cities became silent, overgrown ruins. Kingdoms that had been symbols of power and wealth were reduced to broken shells, their rulers buried in hurried graves. The golden age of culture and trade was snuffed out, leaving behind only silence and the slow march of time.

Yet, humanity survived. Those who made it through were deeply scarred, both physically and emotionally, but they refused to give up. Among the survivors were the dreamers, people who believed life could start again. The alchemists, obsessed with the idea of creating life from death, joined forces with engineers who used their knowledge of machines to rebuild what had been lost. Together, they imagined not just survival, but a new beginning.

For years, they wandered through the empty lands, searching for a safe place to rebuild. They traveled across vast plains dotted with skeletons of abandoned towns, through forests where nature had reclaimed the roads, and over rivers clogged with debris. Finally, they found it, a hidden mountain valley surrounded by towering cliffs. Protected from the dangers of the outside world, this natural fortress became the foundation of their dream. They called it Nivara.

Nivara wasn’t like the cities that came before it. It was built with vision and determination, powered by an incredible discovery: glowing crystals that pulsed with a mysterious energy. These crystals, which the alchemists named ruby cores, held enough power to light up entire buildings, run massive machines, and create technology far beyond what had existed before. Using this power, the builders of Nivara created a city like no other.

The work was grueling. Every wall, every tower, every glowing light was the result of years of effort. Workers toiled day and night, their hands blistered and their backs bent under the weight of stone and steel. The alchemists and engineers worked alongside them, driven by the hope that their sacrifices would lead to a better future. Decades passed before the city started to take shape. At the top were the Upper Rings, filled with clean streets and gleaming towers capped with glass domes that reflected the sunlight. The Upper Rings became a shining symbol of progress and hope.

But not everyone who came to Nivara shared in its success. Many of the people who arrived were desperate survivors of the Black Death, refugees from destroyed towns, and wanderers looking for a new home. Most of them ended up in the Lower Rings, a part of the city built at its base. The Lower Rings were crowded, dirty, and filled with smoke from the city’s factories. While the Upper Rings enjoyed clean air and advanced technology, the Lower Rings struggled to survive.

Over time, the city became sharply divided. In the Upper Rings lived the Mechanists, the descendants of the engineers and alchemists who had built Nivara. They controlled the ruby cores and used their power to live in luxury. The Mechanists claimed they were the rightful rulers of the city, arguing that their ancestors’ knowledge had made Nivara possible. Below them, the people of the Lower Rings, known as Scavengers - fought for scraps, relying on broken machines and leftover materials to make a living. The Mechanists saw the Scavengers as workers to fuel their society, while the Scavengers grew resentful of the inequality.

Still, Nivara thrived. Its greatest creation was the Defender Titan, a massive machine built to protect the city from any outside threat. Standing over a hundred feet tall, the Titan was made of a nearly indestructible metal and powered by a ruby core. It was a masterpiece of engineering, able to crush any enemy and stand as a symbol of Nivara’s strength.

For many, the Titan was a source of pride and security. It stood watch over the city like a guardian, its towering form visible from every corner of Nivara. But for others, it was a symbol of control. The Mechanists used the Titan not just to protect Nivara, but also to enforce their rule. Scavengers in the Lower Rings feared the Titan as much as they respected it. Its presence reminded them of their place in the city , a place far below the gleaming towers of the Mechanists.

Then, one day, disaster struck. The ruby-core engine that powered the Titan exploded, ripping through the city with a deafening blast. Buildings were destroyed, debris rained down on the Lower Rings, and hundreds of people died. The once-mighty Titan, the symbol of Nivara’s strength, was now a pile of smoldering wreckage.

The explosion sent the city into chaos. The Mechanists, desperate to maintain their power, quickly blamed the Scavengers. They claimed the explosion was part of a rebellion and used it as an excuse to crack down on the Lower Rings. Mechanized guards patrolled the streets, armed with ruby-core-powered weapons. Curfews were enforced, homes were raided, and anyone suspected of being involved in the explosion was arrested or worse.

In the heart of this chaos stood Ren, a rogue engineer whose name was on every Mechanist’s lips. Once a promising member of the city’s engineering guild, Ren had been cast out after questioning the ethics of the Mechanist Council. Ren had argued that the ruby core’s energy was being hoarded unfairly, used to fuel the luxuries of the Upper Rings while the Lower Rings suffered. For this, Ren was branded a troublemaker and exiled to the shadows of the Lower Rings.

Now, the Mechanists claimed Ren was responsible for the Titan’s downfall. According to their version of events, Ren had sabotaged the ruby-core engine as part of a larger rebellion against their rule. Public posters displayed Ren’s face, marking her as a traitor and promising a bounty for her capture. The Mechanists painted her as a villain, a symbol of the Scavengers’ resentment and hatred for the city’s progress.

But the truth was far more complicated. Ren’s exile had brought her closer to the struggles of the Lower Rings, and she had become a voice of resistance among the Scavengers. She had worked tirelessly to find ways to bring the ruby core’s power to those who needed it most, often risking her life to steal fragments of crystal from the Mechanists. Whether she was directly involved in the Titan’s explosion remained unclear, but to the Scavengers, she was a hero a symbol of hope in a city where hope was in short supply.

As Nivara’s divisions deepened, Ren’s legend grew. Her name was whispered in the darkest corners of the city, and her actions inspired a growing resistance. The Scavengers believed she could lead them to freedom, while the Mechanists feared she would destroy everything they had built. In the end, Ren’s fate was tied to the fate of Nivara itself, and the truth about the Titan’s destruction would shape the city’s future.

Amid the chaos, one thing was certain: the battle for Nivara had only just begun.