The world of Elandis is under siege. For nearly fifty years, the netherdragon Highlords of the the Imperium have engaged in a genocidal campaign to claim the nexus world's vast resources of magical energy. Against their powerful legions stands The Coalition, a fragile alliance of human states. Battling with everything they have, including enchantech weaponry and combat magic honed through decades of conflict, the Coalition's desperate defenders can manage little more than a slow war of attrition. And with the native Elandian wyrms of the Deliberative mired in indecision, humanity is left to fight alone. Barring a miracle, it is a war that they cannot hope to win. Lieutenant Sheryl Lanis, a battlemancer in the Coalition's 33rd Arcane Corps, commands the dragon-hunter squad Shiv Team Nine. Hot-tempered and confident to a fault, she has earned a reputation for recklessness among her fellow soldiers. Only her Shiv Team's notable success rate tends to keep her superiors off her back. That appears to be changing, however, when word arrives that her unit has been reassigned to a backwater Redoubt for training exercises. Furious about this new assignment, Lanis heads to the skydocks, fully expecting a run-down hulk as a ride. To her surprise, the skycruiser that arrives is, instead, the heavy warship CAS Adamant, a development made only more curious when she learns the identity of the ship's captain. Meanwhile, at Citadel Warrn, in the far away mountains of Valdon, the dragonknights of the Order of Balthas are dealing with a potential crisis of their own as their drakes suddenly and inexplicably go berserk. The event is perceived by some in the Order as a sign that an ancient prophecy has come to pass - one that, if true, could spell defeat for the Imperium. But not everyone is convinced, and Sir Ryan Gedric, one of the Order's most skilled, yet, somewhat less than pious, knights, is dispatched on a secretive mission to discover if there is any truth to the legends. With the help of his drake, Gantros, as well as allies he didn't know that he had, Ryan eventually arrives at the abandoned city of Talanford where he will face what may be the ultimate test of both his combat skills and convictions. Aboard the Adamant, which is now passing through the region, EDAR operators detect unidentified vim spikes in the vicinity of the Talanford ruins. Lanis has her own suspicions regarding the source of these magical disturbances and, sensing an opportunity to make amends for her failure at Falcreek, volunteers her Shiv Team to recon the area. But when she defies orders and engages what she thinks is a single Imperial cyberdragon, is she prepared to face the potential cost of vengeance? Her decision, along with some opportune assistance from a certain dragonknight, sets into motion events that could ultimately reshape the future of Elandis. Newly revised and re-edited, Black Clouds sets the Wyrmweaver saga in motion with the force of a high-yield spellshock. Modernized magical combat, armored skycruisers, and cybernetic dragons engage in an epic battle for an entire world. If prophecy holds true, one person could end it all. But will that end mean peace for Elandis or its utter destruction?