Before they were chosen, they were only children. Six lives, each scarred in silence— A trickster carrying secrets that would one day tear him apart. A girl who killed to escape abuse, even as it consumed her. A healer who gave everything, even when nothing was left. A soldier who could not stop fighting ghosts, and the brother who bore the grief of watching. A giant who learned what it meant to be utterly alone—yet chose to be courageous anyway. These are the stories before the story: the wounds that shaped them, the shadows that hunted them, and the fragile sparks of hope that kept them alive long enough to find each other. Together, they would change the world. But first, the world changed them. !!!To be read after Book 2 - We Fall - contains spoilers!!!