In the catacombs beneath the Mansion of the Elder Gods, the Chthonae dream, lulled into unending slumber by the magic of the Chant. As the elder gods dream, they weep, and their tears drench the mist-shrouded landscape of the place between worlds, the Great Hub. Like the spokes of an infinite wheel, every world within the Realm of Form touches the Great Hub, and in all those worlds, the tears of the gods nourish magic. It has always been thus. Now, for the first time since the elder gods clawed their way from the depths of Chaos, the Chant falters. One of the elders grows restive, disturbing the sleep of all. If the elder gods awake, the worlds of the Great Hub will fall. Reed Woodruff and his friends have reached the borderlands. They must bolster the Chant and lull the elder gods into deeper slumber. Yet all is not well with Reed's allies. Sweetmaye has emerged from her ordeal at the Citadel of the Library with great power, but she is wracked by guilt. Guilt over the things she's done to survive. Guilt over her estrangement with Fleggie. Now she feels compelled to save the Locust Queen's world, which is dying in the grip of unending winter. Fleggie has grown taciturn and severe. He carries the Axe of the Guardian, an object of great power that threatens to overwhelm him. And he has bound himself to the War World. Despite the threats posed by the elder gods, he chafes to return. Iris's magic is unsurpassed among ephemeral beings, but she was changed irreversibly by her exile within the Realm of Chaos. She can no longer survive in the inner worlds and needs to carve out a life for herself in the borderlands, which bear the brunt of the probability storms. Joe Tabs, the Timekeeper, was wounded in his final battle with the Creature of Negation. He must return to his home world in order to regain his strength. In his absence, his world lurches toward ruin, yet he is distracted by his concern for Iris and refuses to go.Everywhere Reed turns, his deepest fears loom. To save the Realm of Form, Reed and his friends must restore the chant. Yet his friends are preoccupied with their own problems. Worse, discord within the Valley of the Chthonae hampers their efforts. Meanwhile, ever-stronger probability storms roar past the ramparts of Chaos. A Lullaby for the Gods concludes the trilogy that began with The Locust Queen's Feast and continued with A Fragment of Nothing.
