Book excerpt: Lands Die.The Living Light Fades.An Ancient Darkness Awakens.The Living Light that sustains Arlethia is dwindling.An unknown, vicious enemy approaches in stealth from beyond the northern glaciers, a wasteland of ice that spans hundreds of miles. A clandestine brotherhood of assassins, held in check by the Light for millennia, seeks to break their maledictive shackles and unleash their bloodlust upon the world. Those that should stand with Arlethia clothe themselves in betrayal, desiring her secrets for themselves, leaving Arlethia to stand alone.The rebirthing of lands ceased decades ago. The world of V�leira is dying. Only Arlethia, the Western Province of the Realm, remains untainted by the Ancient Dark's Influence. Reign, the young daughter of Arlethian Lord Thannuel Kerr, becomes entangled in a perilous web of deceit, greed, and assassination plots after witnessing something horrific - something that will destroy all she knows and loves. As threats culminate, she and her twin brother, Hedron, must battle demons on every side - both external and internal - in their efforts to save Arlethia from extinction, as they simultaneously reach for their own personal redemption. But they have become pariahs to their own people. There will be few that dare to stand with them in the dimming Light - and even fewer that will survive.The world of V�leira cannot endure without Arlethia. And the Living Light is fading ...