In Xinstad, the only decisions are hard ones. Kill or be killed, steal or be stolen from. Here, in the dark shadows of Xinstad’s massive Heart Tree, a boy struggles to survive in this harsh world. Working with the rest of the Emerald Jinkats, a small gang raised Koutan, their leader, he lives a life of raiding and pickpocketing, keeping their place in the elaborate web of the city’s criminal underground. But when one day a strange man comes riding into the city, wielding powerful new technologies, Xinstad’s criminal underground is thrown into chaos, thrusting Herzju and his gang into a conflict bigger than they could ever imagine. One with soaring airships and winged serpents. One with dangerous mercenaries and world-bending magic. And amidst terror and grief, murder and betrayal, the boy must fight a war, a war against the world, against his empire, his family, and himself. A war of masks. (Cover is a work in progress)