Astra Imperium Draconis: Scalae in Petrae

For almost 800 years after the near annihilation of Earth, the Empire and its nobles, the Dragon Knights - or Draconis Milites - have been the great forces that have driven the reconquest of the stars. Over a decade ago, the Regents - the Royal Family of the Empire, both Dragons and Human - were assassinated to the last child and egg. Since then the Regentum Scalae, the great weapon only the Regents can wield, has lacked a master and without it the Empire has lacked its rulers. Now, the Consul and the Church are in quiet conflict over the guiding star of the Empire's soul.In this dark time of decay for the Empire, the Sauvage Duchy has taken in wards. Torias and Lucan, a young man and his Lux Draconis partner, have been trained in combat and taught the intricacies of rulership in order to become the ideal advisors to the human and dragon heirs of the Duchy. But the arrival of a young but devoted Archduchess from a people who have lost their homeworld; the appearance of a new, alien confederation claiming to bring enlightenment; and the revelation of his and Lucan's own hidden legacy will all pull Torias  into a position where the path of his own soul may very well determine the path of the Empire and its Five Great Families.