Content Warning: This section includes discussions of trauma, violence, and suicide.

After three weeks at sea, Chaol Westfall and Nesryn Faliq arrive on the Southern Continent. Recently left paralyzed from the waist down from a brutal magical attack, the former Adarlan Captain of the Guard struggles to acclimate to the physical restrictions on his life. They travel to the Khagan’s palace in Antica, where they hope to receive aid in the war against the Valg in the Northern Continent of Erilea, where their friends currently fight. Chaol also hopes to receive care from the magical healers of the famous educational institution, the Torre Cesme, whom he hopes will restore his ability to walk.

As they approach the palace, they notice the white cloth hanging from buildings, a sign of mourning for a royal relative who must have recently passed. Chaol sifts through the information Nesryn has given about the homeland her family hailed from. In the Khaganate, enslavement is outlawed, and all servants are paid. The Khagan decides the inheritance of the throne and can choose any of his children regardless of birth order; this choice can be changed, but it must always be detailed within a sealed will to be opened upon the Khagan’s death.