After twelve hundred years gathering dust, the only unfulfilled prophecy of Amatt the Blind, Alondria's most celebrated seer, has returned. Not that ancient predictions mean much to Torrin-Ashur. Commanding the Pressed, a motley collection of slaves, debtors and petty criminals, his military career has had an inauspicious start. The prejudice of peers keeps him busy. Jorra-hin, by contrast, revels in all things ancient. Uniquely gifted in the magical language of A'lyavine, he is a brother of the Adak-rann, a scholastic order dedicated to the preservation of history. These two young Alondrians are about to find themselves playing pivotal roles in the fulfilment of Amatt's final prophecy. For Baroness Alishe Daka of the Tsnatharré Empire has her eye on their homeland. She sees the Northern Territories and what lies hidden beneath its mountains as the path to her destiny. Ruthlessness unchecked, ambition without bounds, she is prepared to start a war to achieve her goal.