The first volume in a trilogy of magic, intrigue and breathtaking epic adventure.

You want to know the truth. Sonea has learned much since she was but a penniless urchin possessing an awesome untapped ability. She has earned the grudging respect of her fellow novices and a place in the Magicians' Guild. But there is much she wishes she had never learned — what she witnessed, for example, in the underground chamber of the mysterious High Lord Akkarin... and the knowledge that the Guild is being observed closely by an ancient fearsome enemy. Still, she dares not ignore the terrifying truths the High Lord would share with her, even though she fears it may be base trickery, a scheme to use her astonishing powers to accomplish his dark aims. For Sonea knows her future is in his hands — and that only in the shadows will she achieve true greatness... if she survives.

Every year, the magicians of Imardin gather together to purge the city streets of vagrants and miscreants. As masters of the disciplines of magic, they know that no ordinary lowlife can oppose them. But their protective shield is not as impenetrable as they think. Sonea, a young vagrant slum dweller, outraged by the arrogance and high-handedness of the magicians, throws a stone at their protective shield, putting all her rage behind it. She is stunned when her puny rock manages to break through the magic shield and knocks a magician unconscious. Running for her life, Sonea seeks refuge in the underground tunnels that course through the city, for the Guild s worst fear has been realized. An untrained magician is loose, and she must be found before her nascent, uncontrolled powers destroys herself and the city of Imardin.

Even if a magician's powers surface of their own accord, he will soon be dead if he does not gain the knowledge of how to control them. Alone among all the novices in the Magicians' Guild, only Sonea comes from lowly beginnings. Yet she has won powerful allies — including Lord Dannyl, newly promoted to Guild Ambassador. But Dannyl must now depart for the Elyne court, leaving Sonea at the mercy of the lies and malicious rumors her enemies are busy spreading... until the High Lord Akkarin steps in. The price of Akkarin's support is dear, however, because Sonea, in turn, must protect his mysteries — and a secret that could lead a young novice mage deep into the darkness. Meanwhile, Dannyl's first order to resume High Lord Akkarin's long-abandoned research into ancient magical knowledge is setting him on an extraordinary journey fraught with unanticipated peril — as he moves ever-closer to a future both wondrous... and terrible.