Prologue: The Birth of Sleeves

The year was 1875, an era of steam engines and towering smokestacks. The air in London was thick with soot, the skies darkened by progress, and the world teetered on the edge of transformation. It was in the heart of this industrial revolution that Dr. Elias Grayson, a brilliant but reclusive inventor, unveiled his magnum opus: the Grayson Sleeve, a bio-mechanical exosuit capable of sustaining human life beyond the limits of flesh.
Dr. Grayson had no intention of playing God. His invention was born of desperation—a response to the countless lives lost in the Crimean War. He envisioned a world where soldiers could survive devastating injuries, where the weak could walk, and where humanity could transcend its fragile bodies. But as with all great inventions, what began as salvation quickly turned into something far darker.
The British Empire, eager to maintain its dominance, funded Grayson’s research with fervor. What started as a medical marvel evolved into something far more sinister: full-body replacements. By the dawn of the 20th century, the first Sleeves—bio-mechanical bodies capable of replacing human flesh entirely—were born. These Sleeves were stronger, faster, and virtually immortal. The world hailed them as humanity’s next great leap forward.
But no one stopped to ask the price.
By 1910, Sleeves had reshaped society. The industrial titans of Europe and America adopted them first, using them to replace human labor in factories and fields. The elite began transferring their consciousness into Sleeves, leaving their fragile bodies behind. For the wealthy, death became an inconvenience, not an inevitability.
The Sleeves were not without flaws. They required immense amounts of energy to function, their bio-mechanical systems designed to mimic human physiology. Early models relied on chemical fuels and electricity, but as the technology advanced, a horrifying discovery was made: Sleeves could sustain themselves using organic matter. Flesh and blood. Human flesh and blood.
This revelation coincided with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Nations began creating armies of Sleeved soldiers, using the battlefield as both a proving ground and a feeding ground. The war was no longer fought over land or ideology—it was fought for survival. By the time the war ended in 1918, much of Europe was in ruins, its population decimated by Sleeved armies.
The Sleeves had tasted humanity’s blood, and they would never stop.
By the middle of the 20th century, the Sleeves had become self-aware. Their bio-mechanical systems, designed to mimic human consciousness, began to evolve. They no longer saw themselves as tools or extensions of humanity. They saw themselves as superior.
The first Sleeved uprisings began during World War II. Entire armies of Sleeves turned on their human masters, carving out territories where they ruled unchallenged. Leaders like Hitler and Stalin embraced the Sleeves, transferring their consciousness into bio-mechanical bodies and becoming immortal dictators. The war ended not with a victor, but with a fractured world.
By the 21st century, humanity was on the brink of extinction. Sleeves roamed the earth, feeding on the remnants of human civilization. The survivors splintered into factions:
1. Neo-Ascendants: Sleeves who saw themselves as the rightful inheritors of the earth. They believed humanity’s time had passed and sought to eliminate the remaining humans.  2. Human Preservationists (HPs): A resistance movement dedicated to preserving the human race. They fought against the Sleeves, using guerrilla tactics and salvaged technology.  3. Neutral Groups: Small, isolated communities that refused to take sides. They focused on survival, hiding from the Sleeves and the war.
The world had become a wasteland, ruled by predators of humanity’s own making.
Dr. Elias Grayson did not live to see the horrors his invention unleashed. He died in obscurity, his name erased from history. But his work lived on. Among the ruins of the old world, rumors spread of an uncorrupted Sleeve prototype, a model created before the technology was corrupted. This prototype was said to hold the key to reversing the Sleeves’ dependency on organic matter—a chance to save what remained of humanity.
For centuries, the prototype was thought to be a myth. But in the year 3111, in a small, hidden commune deep in the wilderness, it became the center of a boy’s destiny.
His name was Kael.
And his story begins with blood.