Book excerpt: The Ascension War has raged between the mages of the Nine Traditions and the Technicians of the Technocracy for hundreds of years. Though battles have been won and lost, victory eludes both sides. Now, however, a figure has risen with ties to the Traditions and the Technocracy. He is a being of incredible, inhuman power; he is the Ascension Warrior. He brings a message of unity and peace. But is it the peace of the grave?