Serendipitous Sight

Draft day arrives, and Ciro Sinsal will do anything to keep his family safe.

In Maize, war is tradition-and Ciro's wife comes from a line of warriors who answer the call without hesitation. When conscription looms, Ciro makes a desperate choice to protect the people he loves.

After an unexpected encounter with his Talonhound, Ciro discovers he can see disease-its spread, its hunger, its intent-like no one else can. Hoping to avoid the front lines, he enlists as a medic, believing his strange gift can save lives without demanding something in return.

He is wrong.

As war with the neighboring Coalition intensifies, Maize takes a keen interest in Ciro's evolving abilities. Disease does not only heal or kill-it can be moved, shaped, redirected. What begins as mercy becomes strategy. What was meant to save begins to wound.

When the consequences of war follow Ciro home to Cornia, Maize's capital, politics tighten their grip and peace becomes a fragile illusion. Caught between loyalty, family, and a power he no longer fully controls, Ciro must decide how much suffering he is willing to redirect in the name of love-and who will bear it when he does.

In a world where war demands sacrifice, defying death does not end it. It only changes its course.