The Story so Far..

4962 Two years before the Emperor Wars

It is two years before the Emperor Wars begins. On the system of Istakr a young Al-Malik Count prepares for his return to his fief on Aylon. A Eskatonic priest gets a vision of that Count destroying a world. An Al-Malik knight returns from Stigmata with his own agenda. A Charioteer barbarian finishes his trade from Byzantium Secondus and a heretical Engineer is hired to create cybernetic soldiers by the Count's brother.

The characters come together as a result of Count Fasil Al-Malik. Eskatonic Bissil seeks Fasil out to further discover the result of his visions. Count Fasil also hires his friend Charioteer Zayn to transfer himself and his cadre to Aylon and also ship some cargo for building weapon systems for the oncoming war. Fasil watches over the creation of cybernetic soldiers that his brother Gazmin and his friend Sir Karick Decados started. Also arriving to Istakr is Fasil's wife, and daughter, Lien.

Sir Bethal Al-Malik heads to Istakr and manages to find a friend in Amayeta Yepa who spots him while is sneaking around on Zayn's ship during a jump. Amayeta tells Bethal that she is searching for her master, Liwet Sateral, a brilliant engineer and cybernetic designer. Bethal later meets up with Fasil and swears fealty to him and Zayn's ship is searched by the Avestites who are looking for Amayeta and the possibility of Symbiot smuggling.

Charioteer Zayn receives a strange message in his native language from a lost world near Kurgan space. It tells him that a servant of his is in the Istakr market and needs help. He goes in and purchases the slave girl and discovers that she is the only member of his people in the Known Worlds. He decides to take her aboard despite the protest by his first mate Sustani Kabil.

Fasil manages to get all affairs in order and he plans on leaving for his fief in Aylon. Just before he leaves he discoveres that the warehouse they were storing the cybersoldiers in had been burnt down by the Avestites who seached Zayn's ship. They head into orbit and leave for Aylon with the Avestites in pursuit due toAmayeta and her master Sateral. Another surprise, Lien managed to sneek on board so she could adventure with her father.