Plagued with a responsibility to his creator he never wanted or asked for, Ulfric and the Knights Corporealis are forced to face a new enemy...and one of their oldest companions.Book Two in the Shackled Verities Series. An epic fantasy with magic, monsters, and a Cosmos-crossing adventure.Still shackled to his celestial creator, Ulfric can take a moment of solace in knowing his world is safe from the usurper, and the Knights can mourn their lost companion.But their peace is short-lived.Arch Keeper Beatte is a querulous monarch. When she demands more from Vaka Aster than she's owed, Ulfric has to decide whether to reveal his new but unsought power and take his place as the leader the people of Vinnr seek, or to abandon them completely in their desperate struggles.That choice is made for him when betrayer Eisa Nazaria, Knight of noble birth of an exiled empire, returns and reveals a historic deception...and an even greater threat.The empire of Dyrrakium and its thousands of warriors now await Ulfric's command to conquer the rest of Vinnr. If he refuses, what price will he pay? If he capitulates, what blood will be on his hands? And if Balavad returns, how will the vulnerable and deeply divided realm possibly face the usurper a second time?But what if Balavad never left...