SteveYa
When Havenroot burned, Pyrope-known by most as Snowstep-ran until his lungs felt hollow.
The raiders stole his home, his people, and the warmth he thought would last forever.
All that remains is silence... and the strange, unstable power he doesn't fully understand.
Lost and exhausted, Snowstep reaches the Neutral Zone-a floating market of travelers, merchants, and hybrid species who live between borders. Here he meets Rowan, a patient merchant, and Tidewhisper, a quiet wanderer who sees more than Snowstep wants to reveal.
They offer him a place to rest. A place to learn.
A place to heal.
But danger follows the wind.
Merchant codes warn of unusual beast movements. Giant wood-eaters are fleeing their homes. And smoke rises from the next village-the same pattern that destroyed Havenroot.
Snowstep isn't ready to face the past.
But the past is already walking toward him.
A journey of trauma, hidden strength, and a found family traveling through a fragile world of hybrid clans and merchant routes.