Avo was born to destroy New Vultun. In a twist of fate, he’ll become its only hope for salvation.

The gods were the enemy. The slaver. The chains. With dreams of paradise, humanity slaughtered them and stole their powers, opening the path to become more – to ascend.

Instead, they nearly destroyed the world.

Vast hive cities serve as the final bastions against the crumbling of reality. New Vultun is the greatest of them all, and within its borders, ascenders wage war to determine the laws of existence itself.

The world descends ever deeper into ruination.

Avo was born a weapon, a slave to his instincts and his masters. He and his brothers were made to burn New Vultun to ashes. Everything changes when Avo gains immortality and becomes heir to an impossible legacy.

He must ascend the megacity of New Vultun. He must challenge the very tyrants that usurped the gods.

He must finally free the world from chains.

According to prophecy, the ninth-born child of Lord Orellen will have the sort of power that changes the world. But in a land ruled by magical families, no one welcomes the possibility of a dangerous new player. Fearful even of their allies, the Orellens come up with an extraordinary and deadly scheme to protect themselves.

If the most powerful people in the world wish to kill the ninth-born, they will have to find him or her first. And that's not going to be easy when the Orellens have called upon dark magic to create hundreds of heirs. The boys and girls are given new bodies, new names, and even new magical talents before they are scattered across the continent. Only one among them is the real ninth, but all of them will have to grow up in a world where they are fugitives.

Kalen, once fated to die, is now an Orellen heir in hiding. And he is determined to survive, even if he has to master his strange new powers to do it.