Prologue

I now know why my parents had insisted on keeping me a secret: they had known that their cause was destined to fail. They had known that they were going to fail, and that they were going to die in their efforts. I am to be their last legacy to the world.

I beckon the courier to come closer with a flick of my hand. Here in the underworld, in my father's palace, the only ones to know about me have been a select group of wren that my father knew would never betray him or my mother. Although now that my parents are dead, I have used the past six years to establish myself among their remaining soldiers – the ones still alive from the final battle with the Named. Of course, some of them did not want to fight any more for the cause they had been a part of for so long. I killed the ones that showed this resistance, as well as the ones who doubted my parentage.

Then again, I guess it would be difficult to believe that I am the child of the Goddess of Chaos and her disfigured lover, Marduke; not many of her soldiers ever lived long enough to remember the nine months when Mother's figure had not been as slim as it was before her death.

At my command, the courier repeats his message. I listen to his report as I stare out the window, looking at my father's gardens. The courier tells me that they have opened the portal to my commanded date, and that my soldiers are ready to leave. They wait only for my command. I nod at the courier, who leaved to tell the soldiers to proceed.

For my revenge to proceed, I must first break apart the Named. Then I will continue with the Tribunal itself. But in the meantime, I must sow a seed of discord among them. In the meantime, I will live among them.