A region steeped in blood and betrayal. A darkness that threatens to see light again. Darius Rarkez, Prince of Vlencia, was in the final stages of his Crimson Guard apprenticeship when he was cruelly exiled. Against the odds, he sneaked into neighbouring Elron where a guild of criminals awaited him. For ten agonising summers, he swapped his study of the sword for the art of stealing, but now Darius wants out of Estos altogether. To start anew somewhere far away from his troubled past and present. However, such freedom requires gold—and lots of it. So, when the guild faces their most daring and lucrative raid yet, he seeks the foresight of a banished seer. What he receives, instead, is a grave prophecy. One that promises blood, destruction, and the rise of an ancient enemy long considered dead. The sky gods have chosen him. But will he help those who have forsaken him?