Canaan, a broken god, and Maia, a young FireRaiser, face the horrors behind a sentient forest fire razing the continent of Gnoss. Gnoss' divine king, Alred, is too wrapped up in his own fears to believe that his kingdom is truly threatened by a power greater than his own. These three characters collide in a battle of wills. Each is dependent on the other. Each believes he is alone to battle the demons that come from inside as well as those hiding in the darkest forests.

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EXCERPT

Veil Flame: An aura around a living body's head, visible only to the deranged, the diseased and the Glory. Each flame reflects the soul-or veil-of a person. The Glory of Gnoss is the keeper of the veil flame of his people.
Definitive Book of Flames

Mostly, I held my tongue while others pleasured themselves by thinking ill of me. Yes, I have made mistakes, broken lives, betrayed those I love, but now I have a chance to heal the wounds I have wrought. History misunderstood me and assigned me the role of instigator, of a creature ruled by jealousy and greed. I am not telling you this story, you who may listen or may not, to change history's opinion of me. I'm telling this story to make it real, in the way only the paintbrush on the canvas can make the portrait.

I have come to believe that a good god is a passive god. My most horrible mistakes (what history dubbed my most evil acts) happened when I meddled. Had I just let Gamhaina alone with his magicks and his glamours, I would not have created the broken demon. Had I not confronted Jamos in that terrifying moment when his daughter arrived in the world and his beloved wife abandoned it, Maia might have grown up with a better understanding of the Circle of Five. Had I not left the warmth of Ohd's embrace to live among cold, mortal humans...well, my own heart would beat easier today.

For years I railed against my own uselessness, but now I wonder: Is there a more noble calling than simple witness? These are my words, set down on these pages, that will shape the beliefs of people for eons to come.

Maia does, but I tell.

I must not let this new power make me giddy. Truly, I will do my best to be a docile narrator and stay, like an uninvited guest, in the background of the party, but I must clarify a few things. First, I do not write from the end of the story. The days before Maia's birth, before the unmaking of our world and Maia's ascension, those were the end of days.

I stand at the beginning.

I am Canaan, FireRaiser of the Circle of Five, disciple to the Great Veil, Ohd. This is not my story. It is the story of Maia fiCaernica, a waif of a girl with the veil of a god.