The Shadow of What Was Lost

Twenty years have passed since the conflict's conclusion. During the battle, the tyrannical Augurs—once considered to be practically godlike—were toppled and destroyed, their much-feared abilities unexplainably failing them. Only by acquiescing to the Four Tenets of the insurrection did those who had reigned under them—men and women with a lesser talent known as the Gift—avoid the destiny of the Augurs. Anybody who uses the Gift now has a representation of these commandments etched into their flesh, compelling those who have been thus marked to submit to complete obedience.

Davian, a student of the Gifted, has the scars of a battle waged and lost before to his birth. He and others around him are almost captives as they try to master the Gift, despised by most people outside of the institution. Even worse, Davian is aware that if he fails his final exams, he will fall even more behind.

However, Davian starts a series of events that will alter everything when he finds out he can use the Augurs' prohibited power. An old foe that was long considered to be vanquished starts to move towards the north. And in the forest to the west, a young man whose destiny is linked to Davian's awakens drenched in blood and without any knowledge of who he is.