Book excerpt: The old world is in ruins. An empire once blessed with modern miracles and magic has become a patchwork of crumbling bergs littered with the detritus of the former world. Torchlight is more common now than neon, beggars more common than automatons. And yet the last of the elite still cling desperately to the vestiges of their power, swearing dark allegiance to the Enemy. Opposite this threat stands the Rebellion and their best man, Arium Black.But even legends fall eventually. After the startling failure of his last mission, Black heads to Pehat's Berg to regroup. When he arrives, however, he discovers the Enemy is already there, waiting for him. With the help of a handful of remaining loyalists, Black faces off against traitors and dark creatures alike on the longest night of his life, all while trying to uncover the Enemy's latest plot to destroy the Scattered Kingdoms's hopes for peace. If he's lucky, he'll survive long enough to tell the Rebellion about it.