A rotting, fog-choked empire called Ardent. The government (called The Ministry of Glass) rules through fear, propaganda and a secret police force known as the Shards. On the surface the Ministry hunts “diseased” criminals; in truth it runs black sites where people are tortured, broken and experimented on to create living weapons called Instruments. Most people are completely normal. Powers only exist in these Instruments — twisted products of the Ministry’s labs, cursed relics, or ancient rites