Book excerpt: For millennia, the Jade Moon and the Ual-leen have fought in the murky underworld of the galaxy. Most people remain unaware of them, but their struggle spares no one-not even the innocent. Maya and Ihy raise Ianus, a young monk orphaned when he was two, in a Jade Moon monastery far away from the dangerous life in the underworld that killed his parents. Ianus comes to accept his adopted parents as his own flesh and blood. When he receives a vision of Ihy's murder, Ianus plunges deep into the underworld. With the help of his friends, he determines to face the people who murdered his birth parents. But Ianus fails to realize the Ual-leen's real goal-to steal an ancient and powerful relic. Now Ianus must save his dying father and recover the relic. Will he be able to navigate the underworld successfully, or will he fall victim to the murderer's plot? In a rush to save Ihy and his friends, Ianus must wrestle with far greater principles: do we have free will or are we slaves to our circumstances? More importantly, is it worth sacrificing life and freedom for order and security?