A school for gods and mortals

In a world where gods rule from floating kingdoms above the clouds, mortals are seen as weak, temporary, and unworthy. Seventeen-year-old Elias Vale has spent his life surviving in the crowded harbor city of Lyradon with his fearless best friend, Nia Solen, never imagining that destiny could choose someone like him. Everything changes during the annual Day of Choosing, when Elias is unexpectedly selected to attend the legendary Celestial Academy of Aetherion, a school hidden high above the mortal world where gods, demigods, and rare chosen mortals are trained. Stranger still, a mysterious mark appears on Elias's wrist bearing the symbols of all six Divine Houses, something never seen before. Transported to the academy aboard a Pegasus-drawn chariot, Elias and Nia enter a breathtaking world of floating islands, golden palaces, deadly arenas, ancient libraries, and powerful students descended from the gods themselves. But beneath the beauty of Aetherion lies deep division. Mortals are treated as inferiors, rivalries quickly turn dangerous, and whispers of forbidden secrets echo through the halls. As Elias struggles to survive brutal training, control strange new powers, and uncover the truth about the academy's dark history, he learns that the gods are far from perfect. Long ago, the school was founded by two powerful sisters whose conflict nearly destroyed the divine world, and the shadows of that betrayal still remain. With tensions rising between mortals and gods, ancient forces beginning to awaken, and a legendary competition known as the Great Games approaching, Elias realizes his arrival at Aetherion may have been part of something much bigger than destiny. Only the worthy will rise.