Before the Light of Christ penetrated the North, the things of the twilight reigned supreme. But the twilight is a terrible place to wander in, when undiluted by the daylight. Living stones demand blood, and streams demand life as payment for being drunk, and living hills twist into curses all wishes they grant. The Mellachantra has gathered these venda into one place to be secure in the change of the world: Fairyland. Except that land was staked out by imprisoning the kingdom of Nordomba in a glass coffin deep beneath the Cidatel. Seeking to lift the curse Death fixed on her for necromancy, Kary finds herself mired and lost in the perilous and horrible fay-country, escorted by Ordombi Gromae. And war is brewing, between the nastier and more benign elements of Fairyland, who are divided over whether to resist or adapt to the dreadful Light breaking out from the South as priests advance into the wilderness. This fourth Tale is a prequel, taking place eight hundred years before THE STONE-KING.