Great Yu: Chronicle of the Ashes

Three hundred years into the Great Yu dynasty, sea trade flourishes and craftsmen compete to create ever finer works.

A palace coup in a distant land and a few urgent chimes cause the pieces on the board in Great Yu's capital to move ahead of schedule.

The Crown Prince suppresses a secret report. The Emperor watches with cold indifference. The Second and Third Princes each have their own schemes, while the Fourth Prince, Shen Jingheng, is crouched in a workshop, trying to figure out why a device has turned against its master.

He loves fine food and clever devices, can wield a sword, and knows a little about unorthodox magic. He has no desire to contend for the throne. He only wants to make sense of the figures in the ledgers and the holes in the ships' hulls. But when he steps beyond the palace walls, he discovers that every bridge, every ship, and every account in Great Yu is bound to the blades of his siblings and the lives of its people.

An ancient world stirs faintly behind the strange arts. Storms are coming, and Great Yu must choose a true heir.