"Rule First: cadets in your family are friends; Rule Second: other cadets are enemies; Rule Third: except in self-defense, killing shall be limited to Open Field and such other times as Her Majesty the Eyesource permits; Rule Fourth: killing outside prescribed windows will be punished with the loss of an appendage. Rule Fifth: except in self-defense, killing a family member prior to graduation will be punished with the loss of a limb; Rule Sixth: no weapons in class other than those brought by your Instructors; Rule Seventh: survive." Jack Ventura is the first from the remote province of Valley ever to gain admission to the elite war academy ARES. And though Jack is undoubtably talented, ARES will stretch him to his limits physically, mentally, and, to his surprise, even spiritually. For Jack, survival is a continual balancing act-one that will place him at the center of a plot to overthrow a god.