Helletta Moore is a young girl born on the edge of civilization. Unconcerned with her unknown parentage, she loves to eat, fish, and dreams of exploring the world described in fishermen's tales and legends. When the long-dormant festival drums begin to rumble in the southern region—a festival promising all she has ever desired—her often absent and mysterious master tasks her with capturing six hundred fish to earn his approval to join the festivities. Instead, Helletta hunts a massive corrupted beast, inadvertently becoming a local legend in her small city. Teaming up with her new friend Ella, she leverages her newfound reputation to pursue their desires. Their quest leads them into a series of misadventures that unveil unsettling truths about their pasts, irreversibly changing them. Two thousand years earlier, a soldier named Koleson Whydit, with the Empire's approval, drowned an ancient and magnificent kingdom, establishing himself as the lord of a new realm built over its ashes. He upheld the Empire's tradition of hosting a festival every ten years but ceased the practice after a devastating personal loss, plunging the region into stagnant stasis for centuries—until his sudden and unexpected death. Galvas Whydit, who lived his life overshadowed by a father who barely acknowledged him, inherits control of his father's kingdom. Aiming to honor Koleson and rejuvenate the lands, Galvas resumes the festival. However, his intentions are questioned when his brothers emerge to seize control of the festival for their own advancement. This familial conflict exposes the rage, sadness, and isolation that Koleson inadvertently inflicted upon all his children, prompting a deeper inquiry into the events that started it all. Amidst these power struggles, typically manifested through elaborate festivals, one god is dead and another missing, signaling a brewing sinister force within the desire-driven empire. In these turbulent times, Helletta Moore—a child of mysterious origins born into a family bound by an ancient, twisted oath—may very well tip the balance of the world. Or she might become another victim of its relentless ambitions.