M. J. McBride Knihy

On his way home from Europe, Ruarshi is diverted to the city of Mainz on a potentially dangerous mission. Together with his new apprentice Etienne, he must attempt to locate a warrior who may have been secretly exiled from Miriyan decades before.They soon learn they've arrived at a region in tumult, with long-repressed violence bubbling to the surface within the city's walls while a heretical young preacher rises to prominence nearby. Even as Ruarshi and Etienne struggle to navigate their way safely through this maze of hazards, they come to discover what it means to go up against Miriyan's most powerful Seer--a man who can gaze into the future and twist the course of history to serve his will.

Ruarshi Illyana is content with the life of an itinerant sorcerer-physician until a terrible act of violence sends him in search of a very different kind of power: the power to destroy. Defying the magical taboos of his countrymen, he seeks out a warrior to become his instructor. Upon his return home to Miriyan he finds himself confronted with the unwelcome, but not unexpected, censure of his clan and the threat of centuries of exile.Meanwhile, discontented Miriyanti and ambitious Europeans are putting their own plans for Miriyan's future into motion. When his unusual talents mark him out to play a major role in the vicious conflict that ensues, Ruarshi will have to use those talents to keep his friends and allies safe--or watch destruction overtake everything he loves.