Fourteen-year-old OLIVIER LAZULI is the Crown Prince of the Elysian Empire - an empire which, thanks to their unique magical powers, has made them the ruling monopoly over the Realms for the last 200 years. Only Elysians possess the ability to naturally harness aether- the world's energy in a mineralised form- and the Lazuli family, bloodline descendants of the First King LAPIS LAZULI, boast the most powerful magic of all Elysians.  Except for Olivier. In fact, he seems to have no magical ability whatsoever. Nada. Zilch. No matter how many complex spells and incantations he memorises, nothing comes out. And unfortunately for him, this could have disastrous consequences for an empire which is already grappling with a myriad of other problems - humans are beginning to create their own technologies to rival the Elysians' natural power, the beast-like Arrhenians are jostling for more territory, aether stores are drying up, and rumours of a long-forgotten prophecy citing the empire's doom have begun circling in the Colonies...  En route to a diplomatic mission to the human capital of Inverell with his mother, QUEEN MIRA, Olivier is attacked by a mysterious entity. After passing out, he wakes to find himself in the slums of Inverell, with no sign of Mira and no memory of how he got there. He is found by LEO, a human boy from the streets who has no great love of Elysians and their oppressive rule. Leo, however, is very interested in obtaining the Flute of Lazarus, an ancient Elysian artefact whose bounty has been posted on the black market for an enormous amount of gold - and Olivier's royal lineage presents the perfect opportunity to get it. With no other way to get home, Olivier reluctantly teams up with Leo to steal this priceless family heirloom from the resting place of LAPIS LAZULI in Crim Tartarus, the Realm of the Dead - and while he's there, maybe even ask the old ghost some advice on how to fix his magical deficiency and potentially save the empire...