In this first volume of the All Things Impossible series, an ancient evil has returned. An ancient war has resumed. And for the first time in elven history, the Crown of the Realm has been stolen. But young Derora Saxen knows nothing of such things. When she sets out from her village with her best friend Kelin, she knows only that she wants to be a warrior. She does not know the immortal chemmen have escaped the realm of darkness to which they had been banished for millennia. She does not know chemmen armies are already exacting revenge on their hated enemies, the elves, or that chemmen assassins have already killed the elven king and queen. And she does not know that by helping a tranger, she will be drawn into a struggle that began long before she was born, and take the first steps on her path to destiny. In the fires of an ancient war, a new hero will be forged...