Calyx has never caused trouble before. Having earned her blue mage's robes after years of training with the powerful Afterii Order, she has proven herself a diligent student and loyal subject of the Erasten Empire, though she quickly finds herself in over her head as the Order struggles to respond to growing reports of poisonous, twisted magic. But when the truth about that magic leads her to question the Order's teachings, she can't help but be alarmed when her concerns are dismissed as fantasy, eclipsed by reports that the dangerous and quasi-mythical Nerenii have returned from centuries of exile. Certain that her Order's own magic poses an even greater danger, Calyx has to decide how far she will go to avert disaster, and at what cost. is a fast-paced and gripping fantasy novel with a story that is strongly character-driven yet world-changing in scope. It launches an epic fantasy series of similarly sweeping proportions, which will continue with the forthcoming sequel, .