 | ||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The plot of the novel is divided into eight main sections:
I: Darkness Always Calls My Name
Vyvid Mesmeru's brother Vyrus, and his friend Hexx, make a disturbing discovery in a cave outside of Methakasha: a young woman's body, impaled and staked to the ground by a sword. But the greater shock comes when Vyrus pulls the sword out of the woman's body, causing her to revive. The woman, Sin Invokasha, struggles to recover and to make sense of the world in which she now finds herself - a task complicated by her badly-damaged memory. Sin's friends only gradually become aware of her, but her soul-linked enemy, Leith Yzazel, almost immediately begins to stalk her. Meanwhile, a Celesti girl, Kristene Ryckman, is released from Leith's seal and begins to turn back into a Tenebrae.
II: Dancing on the Backs of the Bruised
Sin's powers begin to return, with the help of two allies. One is Jairus Blake, her mentor and guardian, with whom she has been reunited. The other is hell-rock superstar Jinx and his band Angels of Disruption, whose music and lyrics seem to suggest a way for Sin to thwart the Purification. Jinx's music is also inspirational to Kristene, who has taken the name Poisin and embraced her Tenebrae heritage. Angels of Disruption's concert brings about a surprising convergence of Sin's allies and foes in Methakasha, provoking a conflict in which Vyvid's denial of the supernatural will be severely tested.
III: Needles Above the Prey
Sin prepares for the next move in her counter-apocalyptic efforts: a descent into the Abyss to retrieve the forgotten Goddess Anihkesh. In order to undergo the descent, Sin requires a necromantic sacrament, but unlucky circumstances thwart her efforts, and earn her the attention of the Grand Inquisitor, Treacheris Yntrigu. An alternative opportunity to obtain the sacrament presents itself to Sin, but the price is high, perhaps unacceptably so - especially in the eyes of Kiyoko Toubai, who cares deeply for Sin.
IV: Where Angels Go to Die
Accompanied by Jairus and Kiyoko, Sin ventures into the Abyss after Anihkesh. At the same time, another ritual of descent is also taking place: Poisin has been reuinted with her family, and is undergoing initiation to become a sorcerer. Both experiences will prove to be severe tests of courage and endurance. Sin's allies also underestimate how dangerous the success of her efforts might turn out to be - not only for Sin herself, but also for Jairus.
V: The Anathema of My Soul
Upon recovery from their shared ordeal, Sin and Anihkesh (who currently shares Sin's physical body with her) prepare to infiltrate Neheva and disrupt Enuzir's Weapon. Kiyoko and Jairus are also involved, with Jairus receiving a powerful new weapon from the Archons, the Laevuglor - a weapon which may yet prove hazardous to his sanity. The allies plan their offensive carefully, but are hindered by several obstacles, not the least of which is Anihkesh's compassion for Enuzir and resulting preference to avoid violence. Meanwhile, Sin's enemies begin to realize that she isn't quite as dead as they had thought...
VI: Selected Scenes from the End of the World
Due to a combination of lucky and/or unlucky factors, the allies' attempts to reach Enuzir end up damaging the mechanism that the angels use to divert magic from Rhadixe. A cataclysm results, returning magic to an unsuspecting world. At the same time, Kiyoko and Jairus are injured and separated, while Sin, Anihkesh and Vyvid are imprisoned by Treacheris' minions. As bad as this situation is, it soon emerges that there is an even more dangerous enemy who threatens not only Sin, but Treacheris as well. Elsewhere, apocalyptic chaos breaks out, and everyone is hard-pressed to survive: especially those who are merely human.
VII: The Crippled Soul Unite
Kiyoko and Jairus hurry to rescue Sin, aided by an unlikely ally. Meanwhile, Anihkesh finds herself drawn into the secret connection between Sin and Treacheris, and attempts against the odds to reconcile the heretic and the inquisitor. All this time, the angels are getting closer to success in their efforts to Purify the Origin. As those efforts come to fruition, life on Rhadixe begins to be adversely affected, and Poisin is forced to take drastic action to save the life of her brother. A last-minute journey to the upper worlds succeeds in reuniting Anihkesh and Enuzir, but Jairus' preference for vengeance over redemption may yet destroy creation.
VIII: But What Ends When the Symbols Shatter?
The epilogue, in which the final effects of the allies' struggle against the Purification are revealed, along with the ways in which each of them indvidually is transformed by that struggle.
Last update: December 31, 2012
-|-  -|- |
-|- |
-|- |
-|- |
-|- |
-|- |
-|- |
-|- |