Analise begins to realize she is in over her head as scorpions rain down from the sky. Suddenly the prophecy seems plausible, as terrifying images of a hooded, deviant smile threaten to drive her insane. Perhaps Terramar, the old mage from Nørd, knows more than he is letting on. Four thousand years have passed since the fall of Antirion, and Terramar fears that history will repeat itself in Taldor. 

An assassination plot simmers below the city streets, and wars press in on every side, but the people of Taldor remain oblivious to the ancient threat. Terramar realizes that Analise has drawn the attention of agents of evil, masquerading as leaders of the allied kingdoms. A legendary weapon has resurfaced, but the last two lines of the prophecy are lost, leaving him blind to the twists of fate. As the self-styled guardian of the refugee peoples in the north, Terramar begins to wonder if he is strong enough to give up his adopted daughter to save the last outpost of civilization from final destruction. 

After six hundred years of bachelorhood dedicated to studying the prophecy, Analise has reignited his heart, and represents his last chance at fatherhood. With civil war in the Mage Council, he must decide: Is Taldor worth one orphan’s life?