In 1881, at the height of the Victorian era, under the gaslight of London, crime and opportunity festered together in the thick fog. Arthur Collins, an impoverished former student expelled from Oxford University, had only his sickly sister and a mind full of literary memories from the 21st century as his only assets. To survive, he had no choice but to become a "fire thief"—stealing the sparks of thought from the next century to illuminate the obscure skies of this once-mighty empire. He introduced Edgar Allan Poe's dark poems to England as a "discoverer"; he became a "pioneer," making Sherlock Holmes's deerstalker hat and pipe symbols of reason; he founded "Arkham House," recruiting hidden talents like Lord Dunsani and Mr. James, building his own literary empire. He donned the mask of a "prophet," using...

This is the best of times. Wizards, fresh from the Second Wizarding War, have entered their golden age. Countless wizards, aboard floating cities, have embarked on a grand voyage across the astral plane. But this is also the worst of times. The battlefield holds not only victors but also countless corpses fallen before victory. The flames of war have been ignited; no one can remain uninvolved. I am Gawain, an ordinary wizarding apprentice, but deep within my soul lies a scale of truth. As long as the scales are balanced, failed potions can be transformed into successes, incomplete knowledge can be filled in, techniques on paper can be mastered in an instant, and even the flesh and blood of nameless ancient gods can be refined into their essence… In this magnificent era, I will ultimately become the one who leads the way.