Book I of The Stone Dance Of The Chameleon. Osrakum is an earthly paradise hidden in a volcanic crater. Here the society of Masters evolved, men who rule with savage cruelty. Soon after Carnelian is born, his father is exiled to a remote island where Carnelian grows up free from the pomp and rituals of the Masters, secure in the love of his household. Years later, a ship comes flying through the winter gales and destroys his world. Three Masters disembark and as they remove their gold masks, Carnelian is awed by the light that seems to radiate from their skin. In formal conclave they beg Carnelian's father to return with them to Osrakum to oversee the election of a new God Emperor. Carnelian is forced to learn bitter lessons in bloodshed, intrigue and power. After a perilous journey, they reach the crater of Osrakum, where Carnelian finds love and treachery and sets in motion the concluding events of a story four thousand years old. Covert art by Jim Burns.