Price of a Thousand Blessings

Cymin's final tournament representing the East Deity for Lux Temple promises to be thrilling and bittersweet. After it's done, all his skill and power must feed a Storm Tower to protect the world from fei'lux storms. But before his conscription, he intends to put on a dazzling show and enjoy his last glorious outing. The streets are thronged with cheering crowds, and the grand procession shimmers with spells. Film stars and government ministers claim the best seats in the stands. And most exciting of all, the legendary Wraiths of Saigrath promise to attend this Spring Exhibition after centuries of absence from the world. Cymin can't wait to meet them. But when disaster strikes the celebrations, Cymin risks his own life and destroys a priceless artifact to prevent a massacre. His action not only plunge him into the battle between foreign provocateurs and his own nation's spies, but captures the attention of the mythical Wraiths-one of whom has been searching for him in secret for hundreds of years.

Having escaped conscription to the Storm Towers at the last moment―thanks to some very quick train-hopping―Cymin is thrilled to at last be living his dream of seeing new lands and making friends with the fascinating secular mages outside Lux Temple. There's even a chance he could win over the enigmatic Laithondi and officially join the ranks of the student bound for Saigrath. Laithondi has already entrusted him with his dazzling ancillary sword, as well as the sacred Fei'suul Scepter. But that trust may prove the undoing of them all, when it marks Cymin as the target for ancient, corrupted spells. As he battles for his life and those of his new-found friends, Cymin must confront the darkest secrets from their shared past lives as well as the deadly plots threatening their lives now.