A Drop of Corruption

Explanatory material in an omniscient third person explains that the Empire of Khanum emerged after the “first people of Khanum,” whose line has since been eliminated, learned that they could use the blood and bodies of “leviathans” that live offshore to augment human abilities (3). These leviathans come ashore every year during the “wet season,” causing significant destruction. Dinios “Din” Kol works for the Empire, as a member of the Iudex, the department of imperial justice. Din is an “engraver,” someone with an altered memory that ensures he never forgets anything. He works for talented investigator Ana Dolabra, and “together, they bring justice to the Empire” (4).

Din laments the oppressive heat as he waits at the Yarrowdale waterfront. He is surprised to see so many “Apothetikal” soldiers, as Apoths, or those augmented with superior senses, typically concern themselves with scientific pursuits. He eventually meets Signum Tira Malo, an Apoth of Yarrow descent. She notes that Yarrow’s location on the periphery of Khanum separates it from “the true Empire” (9). Malo uses her extremely acute sense of smell to determine that Din has eaten spoiled fish, and she warns him that their grisly work to begin solving a murder may make him more ill.