THE NATIONS OF EMBREY AND BRANELL ARE AT WAR Embrey's bloody border dispute fuels the flames of civil unrest. A power-mad general seeks to usurp the despotic ruler, through fear and bigotry. In response an aging legislator works to to make Embrey a more prosperous and progressive society, with the help of his adopted son, an assassin-turned-bodyguard. The students of Lord Kelly's Academy, mostly orphans, remain oblivious to their country's conflict. A newcomer of foreign-descent and a disreputable upbringing, clings to his one friend. But both boys are violently thrust from the safe confines...