'The emperor's tears will unlock the gate...'
Eugene of Tielen has won the five Tears of Artamon, the legendary rubies which entitle him to be crowned ruler of the ancient empire of Rossiya. But on the eve of his coronation, as the rubies are brought together for the first time in the imperial crown, a strange phenomenon occurs: a beacon of crimson light shoots up from the crown into the night sky. Is it a good portent - or an evil omen?
While sinister forces infiltrate Eugene's new empire, stirring the defeated peoples to revolt, Eugene is obsessed with enslaving a Drakhaoul, the daemon spirit that made his arch enemy, Gavril Nagarian, such a formidable opponent. Craving the arcane knowledge that will lead him to his goal, Eugene seeks out Kiukirilya, the Spirit Singer, forcing her to undertake a perilous journey into the world of the dead.
And what of Gavril, imprisoned and tortured in the dread Ironsea Tower? His dreams are of escape. But the opportunity, when it comes, faces him with an impossible choice. He longs to return to his earlier, simpler life but he knows that only one man can stop Eugene in his quest for daemonic powers. And that man is Gavril Nagarian...