In year 212, a poor, dirty, and barefoot female commoner executed a prince with Threnka, a forbidden martial art that teaches women lethal submission holds. The act earned her immortality and the first of three Final Veils, markings that could one day free goddess Diadus from imprisonment. Centuries later, the second Final Veil rests with Dame Serel Ashwynd, a warrior as deadly with a sword as she is with submissions. Unaware of the true power the Final Veil holds, Serel is tasked with protecting Prince Elion, a brilliant heir hidden away by his own royal family. His quiet research into Threnka's lost scrolls and forgotten parchments makes him a target. Powerful women seek to capture him, and some kingdoms want him dead. Meanwhile, the immortal from year 212 tracks Prince Elion down, her footprints kicking up dirt that stirs the realm to war.