King Jide Adelani has ruled the lands of the Yoruba in West Africa for many peaceful years, but now his kingdom is in turmoil and the cold grasp of death's embrace is closing in around everything he holds dear.
Jide spent years garnering the respect and loyalty of the tribes in the hopes of uniting them into one cohesive empire when his half-brother, Prince Olise, returns from banishment to claim the throne as his own.
The offspring of a union between the late King Adeosi and the evil enchantress Ekaete, the bitter Olise has devoted the last decade to one purpose; to seize the throne and rule the kingdom. If he fails, he risks his name being erased from the history of the tribes.
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With the support of his mother, a powerful witch whose name is whispered in fear across the lands of the tribes, the outcast Olise now seems unstoppable in achieving his goal.
Facing overwhelming military might and dark forces that he cannot comprehend, Jide must either choose to ignore the warnings of the gods, and seek help from those who also practice dark arts; or risk losing his kingdom.
There are no true victors in war. Even those that prevail cannot escape the burden of guilt for those who have fallen, and all those who witness the ugliness in the hearts of men are forever tainted.
Ile-Ife has fallen and with it, the greatest ruler to have ever sat on the throne. Now, the ripples of dissidence and retribution spread through the realm like a pestilence, leaving nothing but ruin in their wake, but the bloodline of kingship must endure.
As the sons of King Jide strive to forge new alliances in distant corners of the realm, deceit and betrayal are ever their close companions and the unseen hands of the capricious gods are now intent on shaping the fate of mortal men.
Emerging powers in far-away lands circle like carrion birds, drawn by the scent of a bleeding kingdom, while the newly anointed King Olise, still aided by the witch Ekaete, whose powers and influence continue to grow, fights to maintain his grip on a tattered empire.