Survivors of the cataclysmic war that destroyed the Delgardian Empire, the children of Broken Meadow live in a world smaller by far, encircled by a fog barrier maintained by an ancient magic. But the walls protecting them are closing in. The colours are fading, their skies shrouded by permanent cloud. The few pray in vain to the absent God. The many can no longer even see the danger. And yet there is one who does – Hopskotch Pestle, a child of eleven summers whose dreams conjure visions of the Broken Meadow that should be. Burdened with the knowledge, Hopskotch is driven to return with something special from the annual cicada hunt – a creature of legend with the power to undo the spell binding the lands and minds of Sylt. For this hunt falls on the cusp of a very special anniversary: the thirteen-year birth cycle of the Golden Duke.