Before the first scene

Marisol’s family maintains the terraced gardens that feed three mountain villages. She arrived at Astra Noire with soil under her nails and a better understanding of load-bearing enchantments than most graduates. She is the student everyone calls when a stair, ward, or friendship needs bracing.

Something beneath the oldest greenhouse has begun pushing roots through stone. The faculty calls it seasonal growth, but Button refuses to enter the building and the roots pulse like a sleeping heartbeat. Marisol thinks the academy was built over something alive—and hungry.