When Stiva and her twin brother, Chandris, inherit the troubled throne of Aris, the populace grows uneasy, and with good reason. The twins, estranged for years after a bitter feud, are dynamic opposites. Stiva takes after their mother, a Reonih bard from the primal mushroom forests of distant Shadri, while Chandris favors their father, a hardened warlord, commander of the mighty Selin army.

A King's Thirst For Power

Faced with enemies on all sides and the rising threat of war, the twins vow to put their discord behind them and unite to protect Aris. But Chandris wants more than survival; he dreams of empire, and is determined to lift Aris out of its post-technological dark age. He will stop at nothing to achieve that goal, and has no qualms about reawakening an ancient, deadly technology to do it.

A Land Divided

By delving into forbidden science and forgotten dark arts, Chandris breaks a longstanding treaty with the Reonih and incites civil war. He also unleashes an ancient, unearthly threat; the bloodthirsty, elemental Zhur. As alliances fracture and warfare threatens to engulf the land, Stiva must fight not only to save the Reonih from her brother's lust for power, but protect herself from the Zhurlord that is haunting her.