Nero is deeply in need of a bit of courage, but when a mysterious new friend offers guidance and training, Nero risks losing his mind.

New Lur is the ruins of a once-great city handed down to the humans by the technologically superior Erohsian race. This ramshackle town is also the home and playground of five carefree orphans. Well, four anyway. Nero endures irrational fear and night terrors while struggling to forge a bond with his happy-go-lucky foster siblings.

One day, they find five canisters containing Aether weapons engineered by the rebel group Catalyst. Several of the children unwittingly risk life and sanity by bonding with the essences within, thrilled to discover new powers. Nero tries to bond with an essence, as well but is overwhelmed by its will to exist.

When he comes to, the essence is gone, yet something is different... something new is present. Before he can ponder the consequences, the children discover the Erohsians descending on their town, looking for the weapons. With their home ransacked and their foster mom missing, the children must flee New Lur and cope with the tensions of an escalating race war. Along the way, they meet tricksters, slavers, a woman of uncommon abilities, and their champion, Sosimo. Through all, they must bond as a true family if they are to survive. One constant remains; Nero's nurturing yet treacherous friend from the canister.