The lords of southern Dereff have asked Brillar and Elden to establish a House of the Four Powers near Obreth. After accepting this duty, they travel north to recruit Masters from both Great Houses of Magic. Those who agree will bid farewell to their homes and cross the Wild with their families to take up the work of teaching, healing and defense in the south.
But deep in the earth, evil is stirring. The Mother has been roused, the Maker of the Savic. Enraged by the death of her daughters at the hands of the mages and their supporters, she has summoned a quartet of her daughters, vowing vengeance. Brillar must die and her friends with her. The House of Life must be destroyed, the town of Laurenfell laid waste.
For the first time in a thousand years, the north will be at war!