Hunted for a bloodline he doesn’t understand, a north-boy is taken by a rebel who plans to shape him into the empire’s undoing.

The Fatherlast once gifted five great powers to the northern tribes. Those gifts faded… or so the world believes. Ali is proof that they didn’t.

When the empire slaughters his people, Ali is rescued by a rebel red-cloak who knows the truth of his bloodline — and the ancient enemy rising in the shadows. As Ali trains to unlock the forgotten northern faculties, he becomes a threat the empire cannot ignore.

From the burning pyres of Crucible to the towering walls of Maegwyn, Ali’s journey carves a path through assassins, monsters, and the Immortal guardians of the emperor himself. But the greatest danger is the one stalking him from legend: the Stranger, the god who once betrayed them all.

Ali’s survival could save the North. His failure could doom the world.