Does power shape the user, or does the user shape the power?  Life is difficult for the Ly Kai refugees abandoned by Araxis' betrayal. Starvation and death loom over the tower refuge of Kryie Karth. For Kaphri, the lone surviving child, it's even worse as she confronts the other survivors' hatred and resentment every day. But Ly Kai tradition reigns above everything. Two days before Kaphri's eighteenth birthday, when she is designated to take over leadership, their current leader inexplicably dies and suspicious eyes turn to her. Accusations fly and secrets erupt in long pent-up fury and fear as Kaphri discovers that everything she knows about her Birthstar is a lie. Terrified that she is destined for evil, she disavows her star power and flees out into an alien world with her tiny dragon companion, Gemma.When three Geffitzi warriors capture her, they believe they have the key to repairing the damage her evil uncle, Araxis, did to their world. Kaphri doesn't dare tell them she may be exactly the opposite—the means for him to restore his power and renew his reign of terror.

No good deed goes unpunished: Captain Vivi Zant firmly believes that should be painted in giant red letters on station walls of every spaceport.Waking in a regen facility after a botched rescue effort, retired Space Marine Vivi Zant discovers the kindly Ritto-ssa doctors removed all her implanted tech to save her life. Seconds later, before she can request a reinstallation procedure, the High Jerak, Endar head of planetary security for the Moneyworld, barges into the recovery room and demands she leave the world immediately—on a ship Vivi knows doesn't exist.Escaping a transport ship to the Endar Primacy's merciless labs, Vivi is defenseless and running for her life on a planet where Humans are forbidden. But she's not the only person under threat. Everyone—every Star Alliance on the Moneyworld—is living on a knife edge as Endar security mysteriously seems to know their every next move. Something is very wrong on the mega world that is the heart of Whooex Union of Stars, and it's making allies damned hard for Vivi to find. Her missing tech may make her the only person who can figure it out, but the clock is ticking. When that Endar transport arrives at its destination and she's not on it, all hell will break loose on the Moneyworld.

DOES POWER SHAPE THE USER, OR DOES THE USER SHAPE THE POWER Escaping Araxis and his Balandran forces has trapped Kaphri and the Geffitzi warriors in the South. For the warriors, the return to empty holds and caers while their people battle for survival in the North is a bitter triumph. Their only option is to help Kaphri confront the force that is ruthlessly driving her deeper into their lost lands in the hope that she, in turn, can take down the barrier Araxis created to divide their worldBut powerful forces are moving against them, some of which they are not even aware. The ancient Wyxa, who dwell in the vast swamp known as the Palenquemas, remember the history of the world, and they consider Araxis a minor threat compared to what is moving in the darkness at the edge of their existence. They certainly don't view Kaphri and the warriors as capable of defeating that threat. The swamp dwellers are only interested in maintaining things in their current state, and they are willing to sacrifice the Geffitzi warriors, Gemma, and Kaphri to achieve that balance.

DOES POWER SHAPE THE USER, OR DOES THE USER SHAPE THE POWERFrax warned Kaphri about the Eldren—how the ancient races did not think the same as the Kep's Second Children. Now their troop walks a razor's edge as Frax tries to fend off the Grimmenwood's desire for their blood and Kaphri struggles to master her starpower under Seuliac's supervision. The Grimmen has stolen Tobin, Gemma remains locked away in the Guardian Crystal, Uri is frustrated with Frax's decisions, and Velacy burns with ambition at Seuliac's control of Kaphri.As Araxis and his Balandran forces loom closer, manipulation by ancient powers has created a misunderstanding of intent and the heart between Kaphri and Frax, and even the Grimmen has no control over some of the creatures that dwell in its realm.

DOES THE USER SHAPE THE POWER, OR DOES THE POWER SHAPE THE USER?Frax has always claimed that the depth of manipulation around Kaphri and the warriors is immense. Now those invisible forces are rising in their aggression.  As Araxis and his Balandran horde close in, the Grimmenwood ruthlessly persists in its demand that Kaphri leave this world, even if it means the Geffitzi people will never return to their land in the south.But neither the Eldren nor Kep's Second Children are prepared for the true threat that is waiting for Kaphri at the gate between their worlds.

Does power shape the user, or does the user shape the power?  Life is difficult for the Ly Kai refugees abandoned by Araxis' betrayal. Starvation and death loom over the tower refuge of Kryie Karth. For Kaphri, the lone surviving child, it's even worse as she confronts the other survivors' hatred and resentment every day. But Ly Kai tradition reigns above everything. Two days before Kaphri's eighteenth birthday, when she is designated to take over leadership, their current leader inexplicably dies and suspicious eyes turn to her. Accusations fly and secrets erupt in long pent-up fury and fear as Kaphri discovers that everything she knows about her Birthstar is a lie. Terrified that she is destined for evil, she disavows her star power and flees out into an alien world with her tiny dragon companion, Gemma.When three Geffitzi warriors capture her, they believe they have the key to repairing the damage her evil uncle, Araxis, did to their world. Kaphri doesn't dare tell them she may be exactly the opposite—the means for him to restore his power and renew his reign of terror.

No good deed goes unpunished: Captain Vivi Zant firmly believes that should be painted in giant red letters on station walls of every spaceport.Waking in a regen facility after a botched rescue effort, retired Space Marine Vivi Zant discovers the kindly Ritto-ssa doctors removed all her implanted tech to save her life. Seconds later, before she can request a reinstallation procedure, the High Jerak, Endar head of planetary security for the Moneyworld, barges into the recovery room and demands she leave the world immediately—on a ship Vivi knows doesn't exist.Escaping a transport ship to the Endar Primacy's merciless labs, Vivi is defenseless and running for her life on a planet where Humans are forbidden. But she's not the only person under threat. Everyone—every Star Alliance on the Moneyworld—is living on a knife edge as Endar security mysteriously seems to know their every next move. Something is very wrong on the mega world that is the heart of Whooex Union of Stars, and it's making allies damned hard for Vivi to find. Her missing tech may make her the only person who can figure it out, but the clock is ticking. When that Endar transport arrives at its destination and she's not on it, all hell will break loose on the Moneyworld.

DOES POWER SHAPE THE USER, OR DOES THE USER SHAPE THE POWER Escaping Araxis and his Balandran forces has trapped Kaphri and the Geffitzi warriors in the South. For the warriors, the return to empty holds and caers while their people battle for survival in the North is a bitter triumph. Their only option is to help Kaphri confront the force that is ruthlessly driving her deeper into their lost lands in the hope that she, in turn, can take down the barrier Araxis created to divide their worldBut powerful forces are moving against them, some of which they are not even aware. The ancient Wyxa, who dwell in the vast swamp known as the Palenquemas, remember the history of the world, and they consider Araxis a minor threat compared to what is moving in the darkness at the edge of their existence. They certainly don't view Kaphri and the warriors as capable of defeating that threat. The swamp dwellers are only interested in maintaining things in their current state, and they are willing to sacrifice the Geffitzi warriors, Gemma, and Kaphri to achieve that balance.

DOES POWER SHAPE THE USER, OR DOES THE USER SHAPE THE POWERFrax warned Kaphri about the Eldren—how the ancient races did not think the same as the Kep's Second Children. Now their troop walks a razor's edge as Frax tries to fend off the Grimmenwood's desire for their blood and Kaphri struggles to master her starpower under Seuliac's supervision. The Grimmen has stolen Tobin, Gemma remains locked away in the Guardian Crystal, Uri is frustrated with Frax's decisions, and Velacy burns with ambition at Seuliac's control of Kaphri.As Araxis and his Balandran forces loom closer, manipulation by ancient powers has created a misunderstanding of intent and the heart between Kaphri and Frax, and even the Grimmen has no control over some of the creatures that dwell in its realm.

DOES THE USER SHAPE THE POWER, OR DOES THE POWER SHAPE THE USER?Frax has always claimed that the depth of manipulation around Kaphri and the warriors is immense. Now those invisible forces are rising in their aggression.  As Araxis and his Balandran horde close in, the Grimmenwood ruthlessly persists in its demand that Kaphri leave this world, even if it means the Geffitzi people will never return to their land in the south.But neither the Eldren nor Kep's Second Children are prepared for the true threat that is waiting for Kaphri at the gate between their worlds.