It is the Empire. It is always the Empire.

Clarion is the sun, bright and hot. At her side is Respite, a wisp of cloud. Behind them, pale like the morning's moon, is Saint Penance.

The Saints and their chosen are all that stand between the people and the consuming Empire. And as one girl learns when her village burns to the ground, one does not refuse the saint-path, no matter how hard it may prove to walk.

Part of the Neon Hemlock Novella Series.