Our choices are what define us. What determine who we are and how other people see us. Seventeen-year-old Penelope Chisholm has always chosen to be on the outside. A bit of a loner who finds her solace in running. Until she meets Gilbert Staal and decides he needs to be part of her life. Sure, it’s complicated but what relationship isn’t. She’s positive she’s found her future, but has to decide if his temper is something she can deal with. Her twin brother, Ash, is her exact opposite. Editor of the school paper. Star pupil. Dating one of the most popular girls in school. Everything is perfect. Until he discovers that his sister is dating his new teacher. A teacher he wants to respect but can’t. He knows he should do something about it, but decides to give Penelope the opportunity to end things on her own. They’re both so sure their decision is the right one. Blinded by the rightness of their choice. But when Penelope ends up seriously hurt because of their choices, everyone is forced to re-evaluate the things that have lead them to where they are and figure out how to move forward with their lives.

Jarvit is appalled to learn his errand, delivering scrolls for his master, is intended to send him to his death. Jarvit is taken captive by the powerful and evil archimage Lord D’Braggatio. Then, befriended by the maid Silva, he discovers he has a mystic connection with Lady Mabina D’Braggatio. But it is the voice in his head that disturbs him most.

The five cities of man surround the Sea of Dekatos. The ancient city-states are filled with towers, stone pyramids, soaring catwalks, arching bridges and jade castles. The bronze age men and women fight, love, war and conquer against the backdrop of five massive, sprawling cities. Char, city of chariots, deploys her army in the nearby deserts. In Yang, where nightly winds blow in gusts of hot sand, they raise an army of heavily armored footmen. Bowmen of Lau Cing, with copper weapons and bronze chainmail, train to fight even during heavy desert storms. Formations of swordsmen pour from the pagoda's of Hecai while Anshi fields a legion of grim, dedicated female warriors. The city-states wage constant war until a new enemy threatens. Blue scaled aquatics rise from the sea, water streaming from their iridescent scales, and the five cities face a new and more terrible enemy.