They called him the Shame of the Clan but before that, Vale Athrimir was born a prodigy, one of the rising stars expected to lead the next generation of the Clan. But on the day of his manifestation, he was awarded the Forbidden Mark Order, a power feared and loathed throughout the realm.In an instant, his world collapsed, his friends turned their backs, his father disowned him, and he was cast into prison. After three years of starvation and torment, he was thrown into the Borderlands, a labor camp where the forsaken dig rocks until they die.But Vale refused to break.With nothing but his rage and ambition, he clawed his way free and began to build. Starting with outcasts and exiles, he forged the foundations of something the world had never seen, an empire that would span nations, topple kingdoms, and unite the fractured lands under the Eternal Skies.The Forbidden Mark Order carried a terrible secret, and with an Ancient's Inheritance in his grasp, Vale discovered he possessed power beyond measure. Now, he would transform from prisoner to emperor, from outcast to conqueror.From the ashes of betrayal, the Universal Empire would rise.