Baron Emmert Rogan lost his family and title for merely associating with traitors to the despotic King-priest of Chelpa. When a mysterious agent offers him a chance at a daring escape from Blackthorn Prison, Rogan has nothing to lose. The price of his freedom? Only an assassination of the King-priest: an attempt destined to fail. Jaiden Luminere grew up without a mother, idolizing his mercenary dad. After his father fails to return from a campaign against the armies of Chelpa, he trains relentlessly in order to claim revenge at the end of a sword. As enemies of the King-priest, a calculating Rogan and skillful but impetuous Jaiden find themselves in an uneasy alliance, despite different homelands. They join forces with the Order of the Rising Moon, servants of a forgotten Goddess sworn to fight the spreading tyranny of the Dark God the King-priest serves. The struggle is more complicated than any of them understand. Like an unseen current, the coveted power of magical conduits known as the Living Fire influences their endeavors. A group of cursed, other-worldly angels called the Aasimar are drawn to the radiant jewels, and when the King-priest claims one, the stakes of the conflict rise to shape the fate of the cosmos.