A god will return

When the earth and

sky converge

Under the black

sun

In the holy city of Tova the winter solstice is usually a

time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar

eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an

unbalancing of the world.

Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for

Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a

disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man's mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as "harmless"

the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.