Kaval spends most of his day in the slums of Scarlatti City, trying to stay below the Commissar’s notice, and feeding his magical Hunger just enough to avoid turning into one of the hideously deformed creatures known as Mals. When a gilded invitation to a royal banquet arrives, he realizes that perhaps he doesn’t have to remain a wretch on the streets. At the banquet, he receives a strange present: a piece of magical Sustenance finer than any he has ever seen, like filet mignon for the magical palate. After consuming the Sustenences, Kaval brings the banquet to a disastrous conclusion as he literally brings down the house with a burst of wild, vicious magic he can neither control nor understand.

The next thing Kaval knows, he’s strapped to the back of a huge mage beast, running for his life with a pair of strangers. They have kidnapped Kaval for his status as a Hyper Tolerant, a rare person who can consume any kind of magical Sustenance, no matter how powerful, no matter how dangerous. Only a Hyper Tolerant can cast a spell using the most powerful magical Sustenance in the world to usher in a prophesied golden age. If he doesn’t, warring clans will tear the land apart.

Seeing the chance at a new life for himself, and to gain answers about his obscure past, Kaval agrees to help them. The problem with such powerful magic is that it is as likely to destroy or completely corrupt the one who dares to wield it, leading Kaval to a fate far worse than scavenging for food.

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