So when a storm started brewing on September 8

an unusual son-and-mother team who draw him into their lives

and a college admissions process so cutthroat that some students are driven to depression and suicide because of a B

As the drought worsens

Tradition states that the worst cadets are assigned to the cavalry out west

Engines of Empire (The Age of Uprising, Book 1) The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever So when a storm startedThe nation of Torwyn is run on the power of industry, and industry is run by the Guilds. Chief among them are the Hawkspurs, whose responsibility it is to keep the gears of the empire turning. Thats exactly why matriarch Rosomon Hawkspur sends each of her heirs to the far reaches of the nation. Conall, the eldest son, is sent to the distant frontier to earn his stripes in the military. It is here that he faces a threat he could have never seen coming: