One of the few Great Houses, House Bloodcrest, descends into turmoil when the illusive, but beloved queen Alara Fyre is assassinated in the dead of night in the poorest parts of the city. The king, Bryce Bloodcrest launches an anger-fueled investigation with his council, and the queen’s daughter takes matters into her own hands out of guilt for meddling into her mother’s affairs before the murder. What they both discover, however, unfolds a domino effect of events that could potentially bring the world of Oryn to her knees. The Echo of Silence shall return, and the Hinos dragonkin shall be resurrected. For the Circle of Eight has willed it!