As the apprentice of a merchant, Arius travels throughout Farahdin, a kingdom ruled by the tyrannical king Contemno who answers dissenters with death—if they’re lucky. In the midst of hostility and conflict, Arius vows to make a change, to somehow restore Farahdin to its former glory: a land where all could live peacefully under the watchful rule of a benevolent king without the fear of oppression and arbitrary execution. Before long, his opportunity emerges. A young woman is led to the gallows by a squadron of the King’s Men, Contemno’s elite force. Fueled by the legends of his childhood, Arius leaps into action in an effort to free her. But his success hangs in the balance... His attempt will unearth secrets deeper than mere myth, truths about the land and about the king that will vault Arius into a race for his life—and the life of those dear to him. His journey will carry him into the realm of legend farther than he could have ever imagined. And as the stories of magic and dragons begin to unfold around him, he must quickly transform into something more than a simple merchant’s apprentice—or risk being left behind in a rapidly changing world. With a small band of friends by his side, Arius must learn to navigate this new and dangerous realm of magic, legend, and betrayal, or something more sinister than Contemno may emerge to claim Farahdin as its own: for there is a biding evil in the land that is older and darker than the tyrant king. Will Arius be able to discover it and stop it in time, or will the kingdom fall to a fate even worse than Contemno?

In the aftermath of the elves’ battle with Contemno, Farahdin is left in a state of fragile peace. The two rangūn that met at Helsguard have journeyed to the northern border of the realm where they amass their strength, experimenting with new weapons against which the elves may be powerless—a new magic against which even the strength of the dragons may be futile. At the capital, though Contemno has been dethroned, a battle of politics threatens to replace the tyranny of the sorcerer king. Humans and elves struggle for power, and Arius and Kyra may be the only two who can unite the races. However, not two weeks after the battle for the city, Arius receives another summons from Galeru and must depart for Exoter with Guardus as his only companion. Though Orthel is left behind, he does not remain idle. He secures a mission of his own, and it is his story that this volume tells. He must travel across the seas to the lands of Alderdor, the ancestral home of the elves. There, he hopes to find the creator of the Book of Histories so that he might learn how the tome can be destroyed—for it is thought that only in the destruction of the book can the two rangūn be defeated. Their summonses lie within the pages and as long as the book survives, so too will the rangūn. There are those who resent Orthel, though, victims of a hatred that poisons the land. Their dislike may thwart Orthel’s quest before he can even reach the sea or journey across it. Enemies work against Orthel with all eagerness, and if they succeed, Farahdin’s doom is all but assured. Orthel is not alone, however. Lodging at a priory, he acquires not only a strange new friend and travel companion, but a new perspective on magic and its purposes. This belief may prevent Orthel from using magic the same way he always has, but will it also lead him to his death? Entrance into Alderdor’s halls requires a great price; if Orthel wishes to succeed and reach his goal, he must pay it. But will he accept this trial or will he turn back if his very life becomes the collateral?