The first in an old-school fantasy saga full of adventure, action, and a colorful cast of magical creatures—by the co-creator of Dragonlance ! In a world in which humans are nearly extinct, an ancient prophecy speaks of Drakis—the warrior who will finally uprise against the tyrannical elf empire . . . The Elves of the Rhonas Empire have carved a path of conquest throughout the civilized lands, enslaving humans, chimera, manticores, goblins, and every other race they encounter. Now, humans are a nearly extinct minority among the warrior-slave races, their will and memories suppressed by the tyrannical, magic-wielding elves. But legends tell of a time when humans and the other slave races were free. There are tales of a hero who will return one day to lead them in an uprising against their masters. That hero, so the stories say, will be a human named Drakis. But Drakis Sha’Timuran—a human warrior-slave of House Timuran—gives no credence to these legends. He fights for the glory of his House and his elven masters along with the other members of his Cohort. But as they embark on the final stage of a campaign to bring down the last dwarf king, Drakis finds himself troubled by a song—a melody that coils itself around his mind and conjures disturbing visions of dark wings, claws, iridescent scales, and fire. In the midst of a devastating battle, the song leads Drakis to capture a mysterious dwarf as a prize of war. When Drakis returns to his master with his prisoner, the dwarf uses his own magic to shatter the spell over the entire household. Along with the other slaves, Drakis suddenly recalls the truth of his enslavement, the terrible cruelty of his masters, and their deceit. But if everything he knows about his world and his life is a lie, what is the truth? And does the lure of the song—now calling him northward into the heart of a vanished civilization—herald the beginning of a new dawn or the promise of eternal night?