Lincoln Cole

The army marches south toward war. Cael's squad bonds further during the grueling march. Mira reveals her tragic backstory: bandits destroyed her village two years ago and she spent six months hunting them down.

Cael's squad adapts to military life as training intensifies. They witness Mage-Captain Sevrin perform a blood magic ritual sacrificing a bull to enhance the army. The soldiers receive a blessing that grants unnatural warmth and strength.

Cael, a sailor conscripted into Valorheim's Army of the Northern March, endures brutal first-day training. He meets his squadmates: Mira (survivor), Aldric (hunter), Petyr (terrified baker's son), Elara (seamstress), and Roth (branded deserter).

Cardinal-General Corven presents a controversial proposal to the Council of Nine to use demon summoning against Valorheim's blood mages. The vote passes 5-4, with dissenters ordered eliminated. That night, Corven performs the first summoning ritual, making contact with a demonic entity that...

Father Niccolo Paladina is hunted through the basement of Saint Joseph's Cathedral by Tim Spencer, a possessed man. Cornered beneath the staircase, Niccolo confronts his terror and attempts an exorcism, but his prayers fail to stop the demon.