The Children of Triune

Beneath the surface of Triune lies the Middle, an immense, hidden world where every child of Triune is raised in secret for twenty‑three years. In this subterranean cradle of stone and starlight, they train relentlessly, sharpening their crafts, gifts, and strengths under the watchful guidance of Mother, their half‑human, half‑android caretaker.
Each year, the children undergo The Binding, a brutal, sacred procedure that tears them open so their emerging gifts can bloom. And with every Binding, the pain grows sharper, the transformations more powerful, and the children more prepared for the day they ascend to the Upper.
All except one.
Gilly has endured every Binding, every ritual, every trial… yet no gift has ever awakened in her. Not a spark. Not a whisper. Nothing.
As her twenty‑third year approaches, Gilly faces the truth no one dares speak aloud: children who fail to bloom rarely survive their final Binding. Their names are carved high upon the Memorial Wall, forever trapped in the Middle with Mother.
With her friends preparing for their ascent, Gilly must confront the question haunting her every step.
Will she survive long enough to reach the Upper, or will she become another name etched in stone?