A season of peace is the finest time to plant the seeds of war. A pirate-queen discovers the only gold around is in the bars of her cage. A temple-courtesan's heart dances for the archer she was tasked to destroy. A librarian learns how to steal to save the world from an ancient plague. As the Conclave of Peace dawns in the Tree Cities of the East to decide the future of the realm, deaf swordswomen and exiled snakelings, spoilt heroes and lovesick princes, immortal assassins and their apprentices will find no sun to light their path. For the Son of Darkness rises, boiling over with