On the day Princess Aisya of Milinia is to be crowned queen, a giant flaming serpent descends from the sky and reduces the entire country to ash. The palace, the ceremony, and the green countryside are gone. Among the dead are most of Milinia's people, but a handful of warriors survived the inferno in an altered state — living on as ash soldiers, including Aisya's regent uncle. With these survivors at her side, Aisya sets out to learn what sent the serpent and whether Milinia can ever be restored.