“Wars always have a way of being more political than they seem.”

 Telgora is aflame. Six months after the Nordkeiten White Army swept through Edgewood, the sights and sounds of war consume every waking moment of citizens struggling to survive in countries old and new. New villains and rising heroes duel with the old guard through a swirl of ash and lies as the twisting web of alliances and détentes that brought Telgora to war is itself consumed in the fires. Uncertainty is everywhere. Loyalty is spilled as easily as blood.
 Zhaekota rules from Cobra’s Hood with an iron fist, aided by the whispers of his Minister of the Interior, the imperious Lupanae. The newly-promoted Grand General Fezharek takes command of a southern theatre threatened by a resurgent Kahoto Emperor and its backers from Acktine. Isenhartz remains torn between his allegiance to his ambitious new realm and the needs of a people and family starved for love and lack of food. In an already fracturing Zanera, Eilatek wades through conflicting dreams while searching for the answer to the question that hangs over them all: What is this for?
 Ghosts from a dozen pasts reappear to complicate matters further—for politicians must have rivals, armies must have enemies, and the ill of mind and body still require medicine. As the practical and imagined threats of this nascent war press down upon those fighting it, their minds turn to the wisdom of The Republic of the River of Life. In a game of rivers and bridges, ports and ships, supplies and morale, it bears remembering that WATER GIVES LIFE.