Chronicles of the Graylands

On the eve of the empress’s birthday banquet, the five-colored peonies in her care bloom. The Imperial Astrologer’s chart reveals the omen “Azure Dragon Devours Gold,” making Mo Xuan the prime sacrificial offering in a prophecy of regicide. As the prison cart rolls across the eternally frozen northern wastes, no one knows:

- The bloodstained jade pendant is the key to unlocking the power of the Azure Dragon.

- A demon beast that has slept for a thousand years in the merfolk realm of the South Sea recognizes only Azure Dragon blood as its master.

- The technology and ideas of the kingdom of the far north will shape her into someone new.

“Will you be a thorn broken by the wind and snow, or an Azure Dragon that draws blood from the throne?”

The day a golden arrow pierces her chest on the road to exile, Mo Xuan gives her answer on the frozen wasteland

Her bloodstained white cloak becomes silver armor, ice bursts from her palm and freezes her enemies into statues, and the phantom of an ice dragon rises behind her, shining across the frozen sky.

Now, a figure clad in military garb stands in the palace, staring straight at the throne

“This throne needs a new ruler, one who doesn’t rely on soul power to subjugate the people.”