To the far West lay the Barbarian Lands, to the North of us lies the Northmen of the Scandinavian Empire, and to the East lays the Qing Dynasty of El-Sin. On all sides we are bombarded by enemies and within, rebellion threatens. My brother has been named heir, but he is one who has never known war and prefers the company of youths to women and squanders this Empire’s wealth for his own pleasure. Yet because I am younger and my mother a mere concubine of questionable birth, they say I cannot vie for power. They say that it was Allah’s will that I should stand back and allow my brother to be sultan.

And yet, my talent is greater than his.

My strength is more powerful than his.

My wit is quicker than his.

And my blood is the same noble one of our father’s.

My name is Altan, I am a prince to the great Ottoman Empire, and this is my story.

Rules of the Gergis household:

1. Never look a spirit directly in the eyes

2. Always avoid going near sites of the recently deceased, ominous, and strange

3. Never make the contact of a spirit or any creature that can assume human form

These were the rules that Laila Gergis had always grown up following her entire fifteen years of existence. Despite having a father working as a government magician, she didn’t live in the Magic District. It was because of these rules that her and her parents were able to lead a normal life, free from the politics and troubles that surround the Sehry.

Not a week after her parents mysteriously vanish, Laila decides to throw these rules out the window to find them by taking the hand of a djinn she had been warned never to approach. This encounter causes her to deal with various creatures belonging to folklore and mythology so Laila can find her parents.

A Viking woman recalls the city where she met her husband.