Prologue
Chinsey,
Capital of The Gramarye region
Grand Quillia
June 1832
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky above Chinsey, the latest boom town on the outskirts of the Empire. The sun was warm and the air was thick with the rich aroma of herbs and spices. Young Hilary Rickenbacker shielded his eyes as he looked up at the wooden scaffolding being erected across the dirt street from the newly built Trade headquarters. He watched the builders’ mallets pummelling the remains of the centuries-old native structures, the construction teams tearing apart the bricks and rubble to provide the foundations for the new Imperial buildings. He puffed on his pipe pensively as the long thin shadow of a man slid into sight.
“Heart bleeding again, Hilary?”
Rickenbacker turned to regard his fellow Enchant
