A hero will rise . . . Maks comes home to Appian for Solstice break, only to find the village in turmoil-poachers have struck the last standing forest on his planet. Maks jumps in to help, fighting age-old customs and flouting conventions that try to hold him hostage. He soon realizes that the world is even more complex than he thought, and standing up for the truth is tougher when it means going against your best friend. A standalone novella from the world of The Lightbound Saga.