The Known World is a sprawling realm ruled by mortals, protected by gods, and plied by magicians and warriors, merchants and beggars, royals and scoundrels. In Kaul, the Council of Mothers upholds the great Ancestress; Odrel, the god of Sadness, unites the suffering of the Upper Kingdoms; and everywhere the lethal minions of Zuia, the cold-blooded judiciary goddess, do her fearsome bidding. But for all the Known World s wonders and terrors, what has endured most powerfully is the legacy of Ji. Emissaries from every nation the grand Goranese Empire; desolate, frozen Arkary; cosmopolitan Lorelia; and beyond followed an enigmatic summons. Some never returned; others were never the same. Blessed and burdened with a staggering secret, the survivors passed their newfound knowledge down through the generations. But now the last of their heirs and the surpassing wisdom they possess face a deadly threat. The time has come to fight for ultimate enlightenment or fall to infinite darkness."