Starblood

When the ark began emergency jettisoning colonists, one got unlucky three times: his capsule was shot down above a forbidden Circle, it crashed next to the White Devil's tomb, and he climbed into a wounded noxwolf's lair and discovered Starblood. Had he left it alone, he might have remained a normal person. Now someone with a Slate, Attributes, and Runes isn't a typical colonist from Earth in a world that's far from ordinary — especially when he has a voice in his head.

Turns out, this isn't Earth — and it isn't another planet either. Everything is much worse. They ended up in an inhabited Circle of an ancient Dyson sphere that replaced the Solar System six galactic turns ago. There is no moon and no stars; giant Ygg-Trees play the role of the sun. The locals call this place Unity. It is governed by strict laws, divided between ordinary people and Ascendants capable of performing miracles with Slates and Runes. Watchers, celestial islands, mysterious Domains — and most importantly, Starblood.

Eternity consumed the local sun three galactic turns ago. In its place is an accretion disk; people cast two shadows, and life can only exist in Circles formed by gigantic light-bearing Trees. Beyond them are icy chill and Darkness — and on the border between them, Shadow, the land of everlasting sunset, teeming with Worms that devour every living thing. To return to the Earth freehold, he must brave the Shadowlands — not quite alone, but the White Devil who has taken over his body can do things that make even the locals' blood run cold. The lesson is becoming clear: kill first, or die first. Only Starblood matters.

Back in the Earth freehold, the colony is still in danger — its enemies haven't abandoned their sinister plans. Everything will be decided at the big moot beneath the luminous Ygg-Tree. Another threat looms: one twinkling in the night sky, controlling the relativistic jets of the accretion disk. The lords of Eternity must not learn who shares his body with him. But who is the White Devil, really? Why does he pose such danger to immortal beings? And why are the legends of the Thousand Brethren so grim?

The natives call the astroengineering contraption built around the black hole the Skythrone. Within it lies Eternity — an afterlife where chosen Ascendants travel after death to gain immortality. Unlike the heaven and hell of Earth, it is absolutely real. Legends say the Kel civilization left for Eternity three galactic cycles ago to become almighty immortal gods. The passenger in his head claims they are wretched cowards who doomed Unity. He is about to learn who is right — and what Eternity is truly hiding.

Earth is a fleeting memory. In the inhabited Circles of the Dyson Sphere, time is measured in cycles that change with the signs of the celestial calendar. The lords of the Skythrone have set new rules, and all Nations of the Circle gather for the moot. Here, new Ascendants are announced, disputes resolved, alliances forged, and wars declared. Whether he makes it to the moot is a matter of life and death — and the future of the Earth freehold, the fate of his enemies and friends, and his own destiny will all be decided there.

The Earth freehold received a young Ygg-Tree, and he a golden prize and Petal-in-the-Wind. Now he is an Ascendant, leader of a battle spear, and the freehold's first pilot — and all but immortal. That secret was revealed to him by the ancient voice who shared his body for so long. But why? What happened to make him like this? And why can't he remember anything? Unity has others like him, called the True — perhaps they can answer his questions. First, though, he must deal with the legacy the White Devil has left him.

The season of the Wild Hunt continues, and time is short. The Worms will come to extinguish the golden light of the young Ygg-Tree, and Earth technology won't stop them — only Runes and Starblood can. The White Devil is far away, and troubles keep piling up. Capsules are falling from Helga, new enemies threaten the Earth freehold, and the Domain's core is guarded by mysterious beings from the Darklands. The most dangerous of the ordeals ahead are the sinister Hounds of Eternity, smiling from their Coffins of Endless Sleep.

They don't know where they are — the past, an unimaginably distant future, a parallel reality, or a virtual simulation indistinguishable from the real world. Whatever the truth, Unity is their home now, and they will fight for it. The golden sprout of the Ygg-Tree grows stronger, but the sinister eye of the Skythrone never strays far. Its rulers study, watch, and wait to reclaim what they lost countless cycles ago. The time has come to stop being their pieces and start flipping the spheres to their own side — gathering strength and forging alliances to outwit those who command time itself.