Success has drawn a cold gaze. A false king seeks dominion. His soldiers will bring desolation and despair to Darien. With treachery on all sides, the ancient capital looks set to fall.

-

Yet within the walls of that great city, a small team gathers. Tellius knows each one: a hunter, a gambler, a dead man, a wielder of threads - and the sword saint of Shiang. When Darien herself is threatened, Tellius will ask them to stand.

-

A city is worth more than the lives of those within. Darien's streets and courts and homes and taverns are a bonfire on the hill, a beacon of life and light in the world.

-

That is why they will die to save her.