The Mendblade

On the island of Elyndor, every child receives a sword on their eighth birthday—a blade bound to their soul, granted a single unique power that becomes an extension of their own body. Only one type of ability can ever exist. Most children dream of glory and choose flashy gifts: Fireball, Ice Shard, Stormslash. Powers to burn, freeze, or shatter their enemies. Rowan Crowe chooses differently. In the ancient Great Hall of Ironspire, the quiet eight-year-old declares a single word that confuses the elders: **Mendblade**. A practical-sounding power no one has ever asked for before. What begins as an unremarkable choice soon reveals itself as something far more dangerous and broken than anyone could have imagined. As Rowan grows, so does his blade—from a child’s small sword into a full guard’s weapon by adulthood. But something else grows inside him too. Whispers that feel like his own thoughts begin to slip in. Quiet at first. Tempting. Insidious. They urge him toward self-harm, promising that his new blade will protect him, that he can test its limits.