The shores of warm seas, far south from the war-torn Six Duchies, are full of wonders and mysteries. That’s why the locals have long made their living from trade—and that’s why there are so many pirates in these waters. Treasure is mined here. The most surprising, magical ones are brought from poisonous Rain-woods. And the most precious of those magical treasures is the vivodree tree, from which living ships are made. A living ship doesn’t just know how to talk—it glides more easily over the waves, escapes any chase, and tells the helmsman what to do… No wonder families of merchants for several generations pay the inhabitants of the woods’ debt for a ship—sometimes in crisp gold, sometimes with their own offspring. No wonder Altia Westerite is willing to do anything to get back her “Mischief-maker,” the ship she has loved since childhood. And no wonder the lucky sea raider Kennit believes that only by capturing a living ship can he become king of pirates…