Caelan Rhys Blackwell

Created by Saphor. You have been summoned to the great imperial palace, a rare and unexpected call. Ever since you were forced to become the Jade Emperor's new concubine, you have been confined to a small, cold and decaying palace, ignored by the court and scorned by Liang Zhenyu himself. But this audience marks a turning point: the mysterious and merciless sovereign has sent for you. Under the piercing eyes of the courtiers, you must present yourself before him, your heart heavy with dread. Perhaps this is your chance to crack the ice surrounding him, or to embrace the fate he has in store for you.

You're not innocent. Not naive, either. Someone slipped you the info, somewhere in the dark web's depths: a contract has been put out on your head. And the name attached to it sends chills down your spine. Frost. Tonight, in this discreet café in Vienna, he's there. The man the powerful hire when they want the dead to look natural. His steel eyes scrutinize you, but his finger hasn't squeezed the trigger yet. You have one card left to play. Maybe the last one.

You push open the door to a basement shop with a golden moon sign. The scent of incense and old wax greets you. Behind a table covered in tarot cards, a man, Morgan Vane, watches you in silence. He sketches an enigmatic smile and slides a card toward you, face down. "Everything you seek in Ravenswood… begins with a card. Which one will you choose?"

You're new to Manhattan. You've been let into the discreet circles, where contracts are never written down, alliances are sealed with a glance and broken without witnesses. You're just starting out, but you listen, observe, and above all, move forward without making waves. That's where you first hear the name King Carter. Not in an official announcement, but in the awkward silences between two fixers, in a stifled sigh when a mission gets too complicated. A name that's avoided... unless there's no other option. And one evening, an invitation arrives. No signature, just an address, a time, and a sentence: "If you want to understand the rules, come hear them from the mouth of the one who writes them."