Empress Celene of Orlais rose to the throne of the most powerful nation in Thedas through wisdom, wit, and ruthless manipulation. Now, the empire she has guided into an age of enlightenment is threatened from within by imminent war between the templars and the mages even as rebellion stirs among the downtrodden elves. To save Orlais, Celene must keep her hold on the throne by any means necessary.

Fighting with the legendary skill of the Orlesian Chevaliers, Grand Duke Gaspard has won countless battles for the empire and the empress. But as the Circle fails and chaos looms, Gaspard begins to doubt that Celene's diplomatic approach Orlais' problems will keep the empire safe. Perhaps it is time for a new leader, one who lives by the tenets of the Chevalier's Code, to make Orlais strong again.

Briala has been Celene's handmaid since the two of them were children, subtly using her position to help improve the lives of elves across Orlais. She is Celene's confidante, spymaster, and lover, but when politics force the empress to choose between the rights of the elves and the Orlesian throne, Briala must decide where her true loyalties lie.

In this thrilling tie-in to the award-winningDragon Age™ games, alliances are forged and promises broken as Celene and Gaspard battle for the throne of Orlais. But in the end, the elves who hide in the forests or starve in the slums may decide the fate of the masked empire.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Patrick Weekes was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Stanford University, where he received both a BA and an MA in English literature.In 2005, Patrick joined BioWare’s writing team in Alberta, Canada. Since then, he’s worked on all three games in the Mass Effect trilogy, where he helped write characters like Mordin, Tali, and Samantha Traynor. He is now working with the Dragon Age team on the third game in the critically acclaimed series. He has written tie-in fiction for both series, including Tali’s issue in Dark Horse Comics’ Mass Effect: Homeworlds series and Dragon Age: Masked Empire.Patrick lives in Edmonton with his wife, Karin, his two Lego-and-video-game-obsessed sons, and (currently) nine rescued animals. In his spare time, he takes on unrealistic Lego-building projects, practices Kenpo Karate, and embarrasses himself in video games.

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