The second novel in the "enthralling" (Midwest Book Review) Annals of Drakis fantasy epicThe Rhonas Empire of the elves is built upon an unquenchable thirst for conquest. The elves control the Aether—the mystical substance that fuels their magic. And one use of this Aether is to compel total obedience on the part of the slaves drawn from the races they have defeated.   But there are legends that tell of an age when humans and the other slave races were free, ruling powerful empires of their own. Tales carried down from generation to generation speak of a hero who will lead an uprising against the empire. That hero, so the stories say, will be a human named Drakis.   When a captive dwarf called Jugar works Aer magic to destroy the Aether wells of the Western Provinces, it signals the start of a rebellion straight out of legend. In the ensuing chaos, the warrior-slave named Drakis, along with a small group of fellow slaves, flees—lured on by a melody that coils itself around his mind and conjures disturbing visions of dark wings, claws, iridescent scales, and fire.   Pursued by the Rhonas Iblisi Inquisitors, this desperate band of fugitives makes its way across the ocean only to find a desolated, seemingly lifeless land. Following the melody he alone can hear, Drakis stumbles on the incredible truth: dragons are real.   Attacked by these fierce, fire-breathing beings, the group escapes through a fold that opens into the remains of a once-great empire. Cut off from the world they know, can they survive the dangers of this treacherous realm, and find a way back to those they left behind—bringing the truth of the legends to the army of the rebellion even now being raised in the name of Drakis?