Book excerpt: The defeat of the drakkenree at Rastionne has given Yan Tanafres the solitude he needs. In a remote cavern far from the imperial city Sharhumrin, he broods over the Serpent's Eye, seeking to reawaken the mysterious orb and tap its awesome powers. Then Destiny calls, in the form of inquiry from the emperor himself. Yan Tanafres is suspected of being in the thrall of the saurian forces he helped destroy. With an orphan girl, the wizard sets sail across the Sea of Storms to prove his innocence. The quest he began as an apprentice is finally beckoning him to the stronghold of the most dreaded necromancer of all.