The Sorcerer Dahak has withdrawn to a hidden citadel with the remnants of the army of the King of Kings and a very special new servant. He has vowed to regain the Peacock Throne.Prince Maxian, the Emperor of the West's youngest brother, has raised both Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great from the dead. Now, with the power that their legends can offer him, he considers how to free Rome from the curse that protects the Empire but dooms it to stagnation. But while he ponders, the traitor in his household has set a deadly plot in motion.Dwyrin's thaumaturgic unit is shattered when Zoe discovers the destruction of Palmyra. She vows revenge against the Empire that abandoned her city to its fate and goes to raise the Decapolis against Rome. Dwyrin, abandoned by his friends, is left at loose ends in Byzantium, where only mischief can occur.And in the city of Mecca, Mohammed, Ahmet's friend and survivor of Palmyra's destruction, receives a vision, and a command, and the power to strive against the forces of darkness.The war is far from over; now there are three alliances where once there were only two, and three Powers to strive for control of the Earth. Read Less