THE ORPHANS

For more than a century, mage-powered clockworks have transformed the world of Zahn. They illuminate its cities, drive its industries, strengthen its armies, and stand as the greatest achievement of a civilization entering a new age. But Empress Victoria II knows that even the most powerful empires can fall. When an ancient prophecy warns that Zahn's clockwork age may end in destruction, Victoria refuses to dismiss it as superstition. The threat is real, the enemies gathering around her are patient, and the foundations of her empire may be far more fragile than they appear. Yet the prophecy offers one faint hope: a descendant of Wingdama Aling, the legendary mage whose genius helped shape the modern world. That descendant is Ouihan, a twelve-year-old boy carrying a legacy he never knew was his. His path soon crosses with Sister and Brother, two hardened street children struggling to protect a growing family of orphans in the forgotten alleys of Grandeur City. To the wealthy and powerful, they are invisible. To Victoria, they may be the key to Zahn's survival. Drawn into a dangerous struggle involving political intrigue, ancient secrets, rival powers, and forces determined to seize control of the Clockworks, Ouihan and the children are thrust into a world far beyond the streets they know. Sister must become more than a protector. Brother must find courage beneath his fear. Ouihan must confront the burden of a bloodline tied to Zahn's greatest age. And Victoria must decide how much of her empire—and herself—she is willing to risk on those society has abandoned. As enemies close in and long-buried truths begin to surface, the fate of Zahn will not be decided by armies, nobles, or machines alone. It may rest in the hands of a twelve-year-old clockwork mage, a determined empress, and an unlikely army of orphans.