As Kyre awakens, he has to piece together the happenings that almost killed him at Bowfield Spring, not knowing what happened, where he is, or if he will recover from his injuries.
And if he recovers, what might await him should he return to Lordstown – the voluptuous, but treacherous arms of the Rua Sisterhood, in the form of Sariri?
Or perhaps a battle in the Valley of the Ribs against the troops of Aitierra?
Might he find success in the working of the blackpowder against the enemies of the realm?
Or will the breakaway province of Mindar enrage Lady Delphindiana to the point of despatching Kyre to, ‘do them a kindness and kill them all.’
Why, above all, does the EagleWing soar over him? The Bringer of Blood  that presages destruction and death?