A Magic of TwilightA Magic of Twilight
S. L. Farrell
DAW Books
574 pages
Read in 2010

Nessantico is a city rich with place and presence, with culture and intrigue. It is the capital of a vast empire and the main seat of the Concénzia faith. It is here that the mighty play their games of power. But now both the Faith and the empire stand balanced at a crucial turning point, for it is the fiftieth anniversary of Kraljica Marguerite ca'Ludovici's reign and her long-awaited Jubilee Celebration may well prove the perfect catalyst for chaos and conflict.
Archigos Dosti ca'Millac, the old dwarf who heads the Concénzia Faith, is surrounded by religious extremists bent on seizing control of the order. His two most important allies are Kraljica Marguerite, and his newest protégée, Ana cu'Seranta, a young woman strong in the magic of their god, Cénzi.
Soon the lines of battle are drawn, as the very army that is supposed to protect Nessantico masses close to her borders with no target in sight but the capital itself. At the same time, there are those within the capital who seem determined to put a new ruler on the Sun Throne.
As the Archigos strives to preserve the realm while preventing his own order's extremists from waging a campaign of torture and execution against the followers of other magical faiths, he may be giving them the opening they needed to bring him down.
Can one true believer who has lost the way survive the battles that lie ahead, and save the city, the empire, and the Faith ?