 Dyrwood is cursed by the Hollowborn Plague : children are being born without souls , leaving them unresponsive like vegetables . Many people blame animancers , the scientists who study and manipulate souls . Investigating the curse , the Watcher discovers that the Hollowborns ' souls have in fact been stolen by a cult known as the Leaden Key , led by a priest named Thaos , and that Thaos is framing animancers for the Plague . This campaign culminates in a riot where animancers are lynched and their college is destroyed . 
