A young man with no past must progress into a warrior out of legend. Cinder Shade’s life begins on a fateful afternoon at the bottom of a well where he awakens, bruised, battered, and bereft of all memory. His only understanding is a driving imperative—to protect those who can’t defend themselves and become a warrior worthy of the name. He discovers within himself a peculiar gift, one in which the codes of combat are made evident and the language of steel is made clear. When he earns a place at a prestigious elven warrior academy, Cinder fights to enhance his knowledge and perhaps even humble the proud elves who believe no human is their equal. His hard-earned skills are put to the test when strange rumblings emanate from deep in the Dagger Mountains. Monsters out of myth emerge. And so does something far worse . . . An ancient god. The world believes this deity long dead, but he is very much alive. And he remembers his enemies all too well. Even if they don’t remember themselves.

The memories of the past may be forgotten, but prophecies linger. Cinder Shade and his fellow cadets have survived a brutal mission in the vast wilds of the Dagger Mountains. Laying to rest many of their brother warriors, they return to the Third Directorate, battered, bruised, and weary of soul. But the world turns, and new challenges press. Cinder must set aside his grief, especially when granted a task by Anya Aruyen, the elven princess with whom he shares an inexplicable bond. She urges him to further master his skills as a warrior and become worthy of fighting at her side. Others have also taken note of Cinder. His name is spoken in the high halls of elven palaces. The empress watches him, wondering at his unmatched abilities. So, too, do the dwarves. They fear Cinder, worrying that he is the embodiment of their darkest prophecies. And in the distant north, shadows gather. They whisper of their fallen god, Shet, dead three thousand years now. Whispering of his rebirth. But when the prophecies speak conflicting portents and none can decipher the truth, what path can even a consummate warrior take?

Prophesized heroes are reborn. The burden they bear is as terrible as it is necessary. The dead city of Mahadev. In three thousand years, none who have entered those ageless walls have returned to bear word of what evil lurks within. And yet it is there that Cinder and Anya must journey. A hard road with mysteries and dangers abounding. And the greatest of those perils is imprisoned within the ruined temple at the very center of the necropolis’ dark heart. There, Cinder and Anya are given insight into the terrifying truth the world faces. It is an evil so vast that even the dark god, Shet, must bow before its will. It is the bringer of apocalypse, the ender of civilizations. If ever freed, the world will be helpless before its horrific power. Forging an alliance all would have rather avoided, Cinder and Anya have no choice but to work with Shet to take on this greater enemy. Worse, it is a pact that will see them give away that which they hold most precious...

Many truths have been shrouded in deceit. But lies can only last so long… With five of the Orbs of Peace still at large and threatening the world’s survival, Cinder and Anya set forth to acquire them by any means. But their efforts—be it through simple ruses, espionage, or even war—are doomed if they cannot first shatter the falsehoods that warp their very memories. Are they the Blessed Ones of prophecy or simply broken avatars? It is a question without an easy answer, hindered as it is by deceptions that aren’t so easily overcome. And while there is hope, even with the aid of faithful allies—the Shokans, redeemed wraiths, and a heretofore unknown daughter—if Cinder and Anya cannot forge a new path together, the heart of who they are will be irrevocably broken… And the world with it.