There is strength in darkness. It draws upon deep-seated rage and resentment, hatred and violence, and makes the impossible seem possible. But it can exact a terrible price. The Rakenji people learned this lesson the hard way. For all their power, they were wiped from existence by newcomers who claimed their land as their own, and relegated that darkness to the shadows of a long-forgotten past. Now, two hundred years later, the darkness is returning, escaping its prison and threatening to tip the scales between shadow and light, bringing about a rebirth of the old ways. Surrounded by flames and the blood of his family, Veil Kotrata—an unknowing bridge between the old ways and the new—becomes a pawn in a vast game of dominance, control, and power, setting him on a journey of self-discovery and vengeance.