Amber J. Brock

Gavin Guile is dying. He'd thought he had five years left - now he has less than one. With 50,0000 refugees, a bastard son, and an ex-fiancée who may have learned his darkest secret, Gavin has problems on every side. All magic in the world is running wild and threatens to destroy the Seven Satrapies. Worst of all, the old gods are being reborn, and their army of color wights is unstoppable. The only salvation may be the brother whose freedom and life Gavin stole 16 years ago.

Guile is the Prism. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

Some say that to change the world you must first burn it down. Now that belief will be tested in the crucible of revolution: The Breakers and Burners have seized the levers of power, the smoke of riots has replaced the smog of industry, and all must submit to the wisdom of crowds. With nothing left to lose, Citizen Brock is determined to become a new hero for the new age, while Citizeness Savine must turn her talents from profit to survival before she can claw her way to redemption.

Savine dan Glokta, once Adua's most powerful investor, finds her judgement, fortune and reputation in tatters. But she still has all her ambitions, and no scruple will be permitted to stand in her way. For heroes like Leo dan Brock and Stour Nightfall, only happy with swords drawn, peace is an ordeal to end as soon as possible. But grievances must be nursed, power seized, and allies gathered first, while Rikke must master the power of the Long Eye...before it kills her.

On the blood-soaked borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock struggles to win fame on the battlefield, and defeat the marauding armies of Stour Nightfall. He hopes for help from the crown. But King Jezal's son, the feckless Prince Orso, is a man who specializes in disappointments. Savine dan Glokta - socialite, investor, and daughter of the most feared man in the Union - plans to claw her way to the top of the slag-heap of society by any means necessary. But the slums boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control.

Shera, the new Head of the Consultant’s Guild, faces more responsibility than she ever asked for. The Guilds are in a state of open war, her Consultants have been forced to relocate from their ancestral home, and Elder cultists plague the streets. In their tombs, the Great Elders stir. With the sky cracked and more Elders rising than ever before, Shera and her faction of Independent Guilds seek a truce with their Imperialist opponents. But they know that any alliance is a gamble.

Calder has been declared Imperial Steward, the official successor to the Emperor. He leads the Empire from the throne, just as he has always wanted. In their tombs, the Great Elders stir. The crack in the sky becomes more alarming by the day, so Calder and his loyal Imperialist Guilds seek a truce with their Independent opponents. Both sides know the Elders are the true enemy, but that does not make peace easy. Blood has been spilled already, trust is hard to come by, and the Guild Heads under Calder see him as little more than a figurehead.

The Heart of Nakothi has been lost, the Consultants were victorious, and the Empire remains free of Elder control. For now. Shera has become a Soulbound, but with her new powers comes a terrifying burden. Her Soulbound Vessel has begun to poison her mind, slowly transforming her into a monstrous, bloodthirsty killer. Meanwhile, Calder Marten and his Imperialist Guilds have begun to work against the Consultants...even to the point of raising their own band of homegrown assassins. Assassins with unique ties to Shera's past.

Calder has survived the battle on the Gray Island, and escaped the Heart of Nakothi with his sanity intact. The Empire is without a leader, and he's perfectly placed to take the reins himself. But he is not Emperor yet. The world is divided between those who support Imperial tradition and those who believe no one can take the throne. Calder must do everything he can to hold the Empire together, even as the Elders lurk in the shadows, ready to devour mankind. Meanwhile, Shera and her Consultant's Guild are stronger than ever.

The Consultant’s Guild has served the Aurelian Empire for over 1,000 years, working in the darkness to hunt dissension and eliminate traitors. Now, the Emperor is dead. For Shera, an assassin in the employ of the Consultants, the Emperor’s death is the beginning of a nightmare. Powerful forces hunt the Heart of Nakothi, a cursed artifact that can raise a second Emperor...and corrupt him in the process. But some desire power at any cost. The Guild of Navigators, an infamous collection of swindlers and pirates, has been paid a fortune to secure the Heart.