All young Selwyn wants is to join the Knights-Scholastic and fight battles of the mind. But when tragedy claims his father and older brother, Selwyn becomes lord of the Savanna March, the Shield of Jandaria. Unwilling and unready, he must wage war and diplomacy. Even more, he must put away childish things and learn the harsh lessons of manhood. Ancient enemies now circle: Vyr horsemen ravage the frontier even as brutish Priest-King Leax descends from the north. Amid the crucible of war, Selwyn fights to unravel the conspiracy that shattered his family and threatens to enslave his people. His allies are a bowmaid sister, an outcast stone-man, a faietouched peasant girl, and his dubiously-loyal fool. A hard road of battle and betrayal awaits them. Should they fail, Jandaria will fall under a tyrant's heel.