The war has begun The storm has brokenIn the far south Shuvani Maraat heir to the throne of the Thoreen Empire marshals her forces and marches to war against the Losarn At her back are ten thousand men a great beast long thought extinct as well as the aid of her Goddess But for Shuvani the road to conquest may be far more perilous than she had imagined for there are forces at work beyond her wildest imaginingsMeanwhile in the Kingdom of Losarn a far more terrible war has begun Darius Crow the new Duke of Southmarsh has ridden to face his own brother on the field of battle The battle will be a bitter one but Darius knows that he must be victorious if his lands and his people are to remain safe While he fights in the north his sister Torelle discovers a secret about the true enemy that may change the fate of the kingdom forever and the woman he loves the mute exslave Needra treks into Thoreen with her captor the assassin ArmenshaQueen Lysena of Arrenissia prepares for her own war against the new king of Losarn it is a war she knows she cannot win But when help arrives from an unlikely source she begins to have hope that victory may yet be within her graspAs battle is joined on all fronts the darkness gathers War shatters the land and in the realms beyond the veil Gods both dark and light prepare for the ultimate conflict The one that will decide the future of the entire world