Elor is slowly dying from a curse-wound; the situation for the Aran family is shaky, as never before: even the younger prince can’t find the Chosen One and confirm the family’s right to the throne, and the cult of the Abyss—before, nearly destroying their clan—has become active again. If we reason logically, Riel should seek other patrons, but… doesn’t fifteen years together count as a reason to stay—to send his almost-friend and almost-lover off on their last journey? Besides, hope appears for salvation—only salvation can be for either Elor or the Aran family’s right to the imperial throne.