Taya, the metal-winged icarus whose investigation helped defeat a plot against Ondinium and its populace, is assisting her exalted husband Cristof Forlore on his fi rst ambassadorial mission. They must learn about Mareaux's experiments in airship technology and determine whether the ostensibly scientifi c vehicles might be used for warfare — a taboo for Ondiniums, whose domination of the air is tempered by a deep cultural abhorrence toward airborne weapons after the devastation of the Last War a thousand years ago.

Dru Pagliassotti's profile page

Dru Pagliassotti is a professor of communication at California Lutheran University, where she teaches media theory and practice. She published and edited The Harrow, an online literary magazine for fantasy and horror, from 1998 to 2009. As a long-time roleplayer, Dru worked at About.Com's Guide to roleplaying games from 1998 to 2001, writing weekly columns about roleplaying and reviewing hundreds of RPG systems and supplements; she had a brief appearance in About.Com's very first commercial, dressed as a swordswoman in a black doublet and pantaloons. Her martial arts training in judo, ju-jitsu, and aikido comes in handy when writing fight scenes.