AI Generated Summary
The provided text introduces a world governed by a hierarchical structure that utilizes a power called Will, derived from the populace and channeled through a ranking system. The protagonist, Vis, is seemingly an orphan who has been fighting in the Victorum league in Letens. However, there are hints that he may have a more significant past, possibly connected to Suus.
The Hierarchy's ranking system determines the amount of Will an individual receives, with the Princeps at the top receiving Will from 40,320 people and the Octavus at the bottom receiving none. Ranks mentioned include Princeps, Dimidius, Tertius, Quartus, Quintus, Sextus, Septimus, and Octavus. Individuals can cede their Will to those ranked above them. Sappers are devices used to drain Will, particularly from Octavii, to be received by higher-ranked individuals.
Vis works in a prison in Letens. He encounters Sextus Hospius (later revealed to be Quintus Ulciscor Telimus) who is investigating something urgent. Ulciscor recruits Vis, revealing a deception and his connection to Military. Vis is brought to Caten, the capital city, which is vast and powerful. He is ostensibly adopted into the Telimus family, an old patrician house.
A rebellion group called the Anguis, led by Arturus Melior Leos (also known as Melior), fights against the Hierarchy. Vis becomes entangled in the conflict when Melior stages a dramatic attack during a naumachia (a staged sea battle) in the Catenan Arena. During the chaos, Vis confronts and seemingly kills Melior, saving many lives and gaining a heroic reputation within the Hierarchy.
Vis is then taken to the Academy, a learning institution, where he interacts with students like Aequa and Callidus, and Praeceptors like Veridius. He learns about the Right to Death, a code from Eidhin's tribe that values death as a sacrifice. Vis also discovers a hidden Labyrinth beneath some ruins, containing old Vetusian writings referencing "Luceum" and "Obiteum," mysterious places connected to the Cataclysm three hundred years prior. He also finds a reference: "In trying to become God, they created Him".
Vis overhears discussions among high-ranking senators, including Dimidius Quiscil, revealing secrets about suspected traitors within Military and plans involving a ship called the Navisalus and potential Cataclysm weapons. He relays this information to Relucia, a contact seemingly working against the Hierarchy.
Veridius reveals to Vis that he believes the Labyrinth and the pre-Cataclysm technology are connected to preventing another Cataclysm and urges Vis to join Religion under Magnus Tertius Pileus. Vis ultimately decides to pursue a position in the Censor's office to control the flow of information. The book ends with Vis receiving a stylus inscribed with "Stronger Together" from his mother, hinting at deeper connections and a hidden agenda.