"Don't you want to be free?"
"Yes, but..." His voice trailed off, and the silence that followed this time felt darker, lonelier.
Crik is a downer and lives in the dark city of Ungstah. Like all downers, branded on his arm is a scar that tells the world he's a slave. It's all he's known. There's no escaping it. No hiding it. But strange things are stirring.
Rumors have spread that an ancient being known as the avarah has returned. A company of men ride through the Northern Reaches on a secret mission. A cloaked figure stalks the alleys searching for something.
Unaware the world is changing around him, Crik spends most of his days scavenging food for himself and his best friend, Jak, avoiding the ash kings that haunt the streets, and stealing for Kilvar, his cruel master. But when he steals from the wrong person, Crik will either die or do what no other downer has ever done before - escape from Ungstah.