The Fracturing occurred ten centuries ago. The immortal Ones have fallen. Something beckons to those who remain.
An incurable sickness has infected a fishing village along the coast of Ishalar. The sick do not die--they vanish, leaving behind footprints and ashen shadows. Delanis, the Fourth Throne of Ishalar, has already lost his wife to The Vanishing, and now his daughter is deep in the throes of the illness. Desperate to save his daughter, Delanis defies his Ishalar's ruler, the First Throne, and secretly journeys through an icy sea to a forsaken land with those loyal to him. Their journey turns to one of both miraculous discovery and deepening desperation as they become prey of an unknown enemy. Among frozen cliffs and ghostly waters, Delanis uncovers the source of The Vanishing and his destiny in an ageless war . . .