reis bennet was never acquainted with the luxury of constancy, let alone devotion. raised in the shadow of a father, (whose enigmatic naval career kept him at sea more often than at home), and marked by the aching void left by his mother's untimely passing, reis learned early to find solace in simplicity. school, the unwavering companionship of his closest friends, zyra and ezan, and, above all, his imagination. it was in the quiet folds of his daydreams that reis escaped, especially to urtheia. a mystical realm of wonder and harmony his father once spoke of in hushed, reverent tones. a sanctuary where gifted children walked alongside ancient, sentient creatures, and where magic coursed as naturally as breath. however, tragedy strikes once more as his father, elian, dies under sudden and unexplained circumstances. reis finds himself displaced; both emotionally and physically, as he's forced to move in with azura, his enigmatic and fiercely independent older cousin. together, they attempt to navigate a shared grief, though neither truly knows how to begin. as reis struggles to adjust to life without his father, his dreams of urtheia return with startling clarity. only now, the utopia he once knew is fractured, burning with unrest, death, and a looming war that threatens to consume it whole. in an attempt to escape the heaviness of reality, reis and azura visit the local museum. but, their respite quickly spirals into the extraordinary when they encounter a mysterious glass artifact, curiously out of place and humming with energy. as their fingers graze it's surface, time collapses, and they are pulled through the veil into the very world reis has long dreamed of: urtheia. and the rest... is history 🤷‍♀️ quick disclaimer: i, @sredthompson, am the original creator of both the story with it's plotlines, and all original characters mentioned within the book. this is in no way a fanfic. please be patient, and enjoy the labyrinth that is my mind!! :)