God's Anointed? By the time Falnir Aasberg finally delivers Ennor's plea for aid, Elsillore has become a kingdom racked by suspicion as the new king asserts royal power. Taking opportunity to send his critics north, Peristor banishes them in all but name. Seeking to buy a sword before he departs with the banished, ironsmith Ruyen Artisson is himself claimed by Cuirainne, the legendary Dragonsword. Suffering a night of torment, Ruyen revisits his past lives back to the time he was the first Aean's Chosen to defeat the Nameless in the War of Generations. But with the sword he also inherits valar, the power of God Herself. Surviving battle on the streets of Elsillore, enduring endless scrutiny of Maidens unsure if he is Aean's Chosen or an Ae'sin agent of the Nameless, Ruyen is determined to fashion his own destiny. But fate is its own master, and when Ruyen must watch Maiden Miram d'Arranch burned for witchcraft he unleashes valar in a torrent of destruction that envelops the abbey of ar'Alhoud and all its inhabitants in a conflagration of horror. Ruyen has embraced his future in an act of rage that will have untold consequences for Ruyen, the embassy, and Annessa itself.