📖 This epic fantasy novel is the story of a vicar who must give up all that is important to his faith to learn the fate of a woman he loves. In an earlier heroic quest, Jakem Pyce made his own journey as he shifted from an agnostic outlook on life to one of devotion, based on the sacrifice he observed of his priestess friend Ariane. He learns she did not perish in her sacrifice, and seeks answers in the mystery around her disappearance. Yet to find answers, he must decide whether to use a forbidden magic counter to his faith that may put the rest of the world in danger, and his wavering faith in a silent Deity is challenged. Helped by a female dwarf who has fled her oppressive society, the pair must face a gauntlet of obstacles including shadowy agents, relentless magic foes, and vengeance seekers, all against the backdrop of a bitter civil war and shifting alliances among friends and enemies to learn the real fate of Ariane.