Darkloom Author:Cary Osborne Arden Grenfell has big trouble on her hands. As head of the elite Imperial guard, she must prepare for the ascension of the first Empress of Glory -- and quell a rebellion within the military, of which some members resent having a woman on the throne. — But who are the traitors, and who is merely not coping well with sudden change? General Hsing,... more » commander-in-chief of the home guards, and so very physically close to the palace? Or General Radieux, who commands the military's heavily-defended armory on the vacuum world of Baltha? And what of the rank and file? How many of them are spies or traitors, ready to strike without warning?
To add to the troubles, there is the matter of the lifeweave, a psychotropic-laced material which, when used, allows the user to leverage the powers of another dimension, including information about the future. Of course, there is a price: a gradual addiction that will eventually kill the user.
Arden has already been using lifeweave, and her spirit guide, Pac Terhn, has bound her to serve the new Empress, either until the Empress dies or dismisses her from service. As the pressure mounts, Arden finds herself more and more dependent on the lifeweave, because who wouldn't want to know where an enemy will strike?« less