It's been almost two months since Karsen Morgate fled Aystin, and he's still running for his life. Colored with loss, death and betrayal, his journey has intersected with the nefarious Shroud and the deadly Fashwei, an ancient martial brotherhood trained in stealth and brutality. With danger at every turn, Karsen does the only thing he knows to do: he keeps going. He still carries the Cloudstone carving bestowed upon him by Adept Noxyn, and is determined to deliver it to Adept Ghyre as he promised. The only problem is that Adept Ghyre is nowhere to be found-if he even still lives. As Karsen slowly puts the pieces together, he comes to realize that his mission is more intricately tied up with the history of Tholann than he ever could have imagined-and more shockingly, it somehow involves the disappearance of his sister, Elysse, six years earlier. For it appears that Karsen himself is playing a central role in fulfilling an ancient prophecy, one that will bring him face to face with an unimaginably powerful evil, and lead him to the greatest mystery of them all: The Rithhek Cage.