They fight with speed and skill that is almost inhuman. Masks – "Named for the eerie silver masks that cover their faces, these soldiers are the Martial Empire’s most ruthless enforcers. The Resistance is a secretive group made up of Scholars seeking to overthrow the Empire. Many Scholars are enslaved by the Martials, and those who are not enslaved live a difficult, poverty-stricken life. Scholars – The Scholars are a race of oppressed individuals who once ruled the land that has since been occupied by the Martial Empire. His legends live on in Blackcliff Academy, a school built to prepare and identify the future Emperor now a training ground for the Empire’s deadliest soldiers-the silver-faced Masks. He was called the Masked One, for the unearthly silver mask he wore to scare his enemies. He named himself Emperor and established his dynasty. When Elias meets Laia, the two realize that their destinies are more intertwined than they could have ever dreamed.įive hundred years ago, a warrior named Taius lead the Martial clans to take over the Scholar Empire. But Elias has no wish to take the tests, or be ruler. Along with his best friend Helene Aquilla and his two rivals Marcus and Zak Farrar, he has been chosen to take the Trials, a series of tests that will decide who the next ruler of the Empire is. Laia seeks out the help of the anti-Empire group called the Resistance, and agrees to infiltrate an infamous military school for them if they help her break her brother free from prison.Īt the school, called Blackcliff Academy, Laia meets a student named Elias Veturius. Darin is arrested by Martial forces and accused of being an anti-Empire rebel. Their existence is a grueling one as they are seen as second-class citizens by the ruling Martial elite. Ī Scholar girl by the name of Laia lives in the Martial Empire with her grandparents and brother Darin in the city of Serra. International translation rights have been sold in 30 countries as of October 2015. The book was a New York Times, USA Today and international bestseller. The novel is narrated in the first-person, alternating between the points of view of Laia and Elias.
In a fantasy world inspired by Ancient Rome, the story follows a girl named Laia spying for rebels against the reigning empire in exchange for their help in rescuing her captive brother and a boy named Elias struggling to free himself from being an enforcer of a tyrannical regime. It is the first book in the An Ember in the Ashes series, followed by A Torch Against the Night.
It was published on Apby Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Print ( hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-bookĪn Ember in the Ashes is a fantasy novel written by Pakistani-American author Sabaa Tahir.