Maquia is a member of the rare Iorph, mystical beings who can live for centuries yet keep themselves apart from human affairs. Though surrounded by her kind, she has always felt a deep loneliness because she lost both parents at a very young age. She spends hours dreaming of the world beyond her homeland, but the clan chief forbids any venture outside, warning that outsiders bring danger. So she remains in the safety of her secluded village.
One day, that world intrudes. The power‑hungry kingdom of Mezarte launches a brutal invasion into Iorph territory, already possessing the last surviving colossal dragons known as Renatos. Their king now seeks to merge the Iorph"s immortality with his own bloodline, hoping to secure eternal rule. Humans and Renatos ravage the Iorph lands, slaughtering most of its people. Amid this chaos, Maquia is seized by a berserk Renato that later collapses; she is left alone in a distant forest, surrounded by ruin and the faint cry of an infant. She finds the child in a shattered hamlet and decides to raise him as her own, naming him Ariel. She vows to protect Ariel from the shadows that haunt her, hoping his presence will fill the void within her heart. Though she knows nothing of the human world and how to nurture a child who ages far faster than she does, she is determined to endure the lingering loneliness and make it all work.
