The first volume of the new Draconis Memoria series from the author of the bestselling The Shadow of the Raven trilogy
In the vast areas controlled by the Kovolod Trading Syndicate, there is no more valuable resource than the blood of dragons. By bleeding captive bred or wild-caught Red, Green, Blue and Black Dragons, elixirs can be distilled that bestow dizzying powers on the unlikely group of men and women known as the Blood Blessed. However, few people know that the various families of dragons are dying out. Their blood is in short supply and war with the Corvantine Empire is imminent. The Syndicate's last hopes are pinned on vague rumours of the existence of another species of draggo - far more powerful than the others - and the chosen few who must now try to find it.
The story gradually intertwines the fates of the three main characters. Claydon Torcreek, a thief and unregistered Bloodborn, finds himself involuntarily in the service of the Syndicate and is sent to search the unexplored wastes for a legendary creature. Lizanne Lethridge, a top-notch agent and assassin for hire, risks her life on a reconnaissance mission into the heart of enemy territory. And after a battle with pirates and then the Corvantine fleet, Corrick Hilemore, a midshipman on a Kovolod cruiser, reaches the edge of the world and into more danger than he could have imagined.
All three must fight a relentless battle to repel the onset of a devastating war or fall victim to it.
