On a minor planet of the vast Second Empire, a mysterious force awakens, evoking obscure legends and forgotten omens. But the secretive Ethrakkien Monks know what it is: - the ancient magical creation of the prophet Sialom. Few understand what Muann Tshir's return might mean, least of all the Empire's privileged ruling class, the Sophē. Emperor Ashariya Shuriyana of Genus Irahkhan has ruled the Second Empire for 247 years. Like all Sophē, her power has extended her lifespan, but at 510 she has lived longer than any Sophon in history... too long. Imperial heir Kameran is weakening. Ashariya will outlive him, spelling the unexpected end of the seven-century Irahkhani Dynasty. With Kameran's death, Imperial succession will, by tradition, pass to Siachone Seumlante, Godscion of rival Genus Aethea. Irahkhan would have reigned another thousand years but now that hope seems dashed. Irahkhan has grown arrogant and entitled. Most born into the Genus know no other reality, but Moriadh Macel, youngest of the Irahkhani Sophē, has a secret psychic link with Genus Aethea. Through their connection, Macel knows the poverty of the Irahkhani spirit against the rich compassion of Aethea. Her bridge to Aethea will be a lifeline for her more than once, through personal and spiritual challenges that none could ever have foreseen. Irahkhani Sophē Syarifa Khaddaru and Kre Goroye will not let their Empire become Aethean. They hatch a plot to preserve Irahkhan dominance. But their plan is a heinous and proscribed crime. None must know. Not even the Emperor. What Syarifa and Kre fail to realise is that their decisions are not their own, but are rather driven by Muann Tshir towards a higher purpose that they do not even suspect. When a prominent Star Force Officer is mysteriously assassinated. Imperial High Command send a covert mission to hunt down the terrorists responsible. But the investigation leads inexorably back to the Imperial Sophos itself, and finds itself hampered by a force that can only be Sophic in origin. On the Aethean world Myoudon, Dr Djanna Liadj is called upon by the Aethean Sophos to reconstruct a mysterious and severely wounded man. Against all her instincts and professional training, she grows attached to her patient, and their futures begin to intertwine. Neither are aware of Muann Tshir's hand in their destinies. Seemingly unrelated events flow inexorably together to a shattering crescendo, forever altering the course of Imperial History, and yet,