As an orphaned teenager Aldester had been doing all right for himself as a pick-pocket.
But a botched theft involving a crystal and an explosion got him caught by the Council.
These top minds of the Academy, the most powerful magic users in the realm, thought it odd that he could perform magic without a pyxis.
So they did what any scholars would; they ran some tests.
When it's discovered that Aldester is a scion with the power to summon the dark god Darlicci, the Council sentences him to death to protect the people.
Now he's on the run, but the Council's forces are closing in.
To keep his head attached to his neck, Aldester may have to do the one thing that would prove them right about the evil that lurks inside him.
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Previously published as Before the Shroud Vol I