The Xexens, a humanoid species of powerful mages, have dominated their star system, and Xenron is the crown prince of the Xexen empire. He is due to crush the dangerous Lucerna that threaten their safety and prosperity, and preside over a time of peace in the aftermath. There's one problem - he can't cast a single spell. He can't even summon the mana that empowers every movement of most Xexens - and for a culture that values power as much as the Xexens, this is an unforgivable fault for a ruler. Powerless, he is sequestered in a stifling castle keep for his protection - but the initially timid Xenron seeks desperately to prove himself and see the outside world. Elsewhere on planet Learsi, the scrappy Ariel sets out from her carefree forest home into a world of danger. Threatened by terror attacks, she works tirelessly towards her goal of rescuing her kidnapped little brother. Unlike Xenron, she is a prodigy, but without a proper teacher, her talent has yet to bloom and is no threat to the elusive Black Hand. She seeks help wherever she can find it on what initially seems a hopeless quest.  Their journies run mostly in parallel, but when a series of strange encounters cross their paths temporarily, their unique perspectives give each other just enough of a push to move one more step down their perilous paths. This is not primarily "weakest becomes the strongest" fantasy. Xenron isn't supposed to be weak - and he knows it. Whenever he tries to summon his mana, though, he gets nightmarish visions of a time he can't remember. If he wants to wield the power born to him and start to have agency in his life, Xenron will need to have to courage to work through the many mysteries of his life - and see what awaits him on the other side. Content warnings are for suicidal ideation, and fairly typical fantasy violence and swearing. Yes, this is the same Catalyst that I had up previously and removed three months ago. If you've read any of Catalyst previously, the text is mostly the same; however, I will be releasing chapters daily including several (!) new chapters that I've been working on in the last few months. I've added new placeholder cover art for now, but I'm hoping to commission proper cover art once I nail down a good design! If you're an OG, thanks so much for coming back. I'm hoping the few big fights through the end of part two will be exciting for you!