A place for the founding of an independent state has been found - this is Diamond Island, the owner of which, the former pirate Zahadian Darroch, is ready to cede his island property to members of the Resistance. Preparations for the resettlement begin, but the imperial government is not asleep - banking on betrayal in the ranks of members of the Resistance, it is developing a plan to deal with the rebels. Meanwhile, Rit Keldason, together with Kuch, a student of the deceased sorcerer, are actively searching for the legendary source of knowledge of the long-vanished civilization of the Founders, as well as the clepsydra, a mysterious device that measures the time remaining before the global cataclysm. For the possession of these artifacts will give the Resistance an incredibly powerful weapon in the fight against empires.