Istra Auralis

In a world where the extraordinary are harvested, the safest power is the one no one sees.

Claude Ironfist is six years old when he realizes he’s not alone in his own mind. voices—fragments of lives—whisper guidance, share memories of deaths both heroic and brutal, and warn him of a terrible truth:

The gods are watching. And they love a good story.

Now, armed with lifetimes of hard-won wisdom, Claude must do what none of them could: survive. Train in secret. Hide his growing power behind a blacksmith’s hammer. Build bonds with friends who can never know what he truly is. And pray the God’s Eyes floating overhead see nothing worth watching.

But some stories refuse to stay quiet. Some bonds run too deep to abandon. And when the entertainment system finally demands its due, Claude will face an impossible choice:

Stay hidden and lose everything he loves.

Or reveal what he’s become—and lose himself.