Synopsis
Having escaped a brutal battle between Fai'daum revolutionaries and Guan'im cavalry, John has climbed the Thousand Steps to the heights of Rathal'pesha in search of a way home. He learns that the golden key he lost--the one that can open a Great Gate and allow him and his friends to return home--lies within his reach. But not even the remote mountain monastery of Rathal'pesha is safe from violent turmoil in an age of rebellion and religious warfare. Soon John is drawn into the heart of a power struggle that will decide who will live and who will die on the Holy Road.