Things are changing in the Republic of Amathea.  The Covenant of Mandra, once a powerful religious force, is losing its influence over the people.  An up and coming class of Mages are infiltrating society, revolutionizing the primitive technology of the Republic and causing new social tensions to arise.  All the while a grim threat lurks on the borders of the Republic - an indiscriminate enemy planning to destroy Amathea and the land beyond.
Caught in the middle of this are four people brought together accidentally.  Drake, the runaway avatar of the God of Night, is bound to Rhonwen, a naïve Mage of the White Order. Traveling with them are Thelonius, Drake’s best friend and a trained assassin and spy hiding from the Shadow Houses, and Kamaria, a thief with no ties except to the other three.  On a quest to free himself from the bonds of the Covenant, Drake and his friends must journey across the Republic and to lands beyond.  Standing in their way is the more immediate trouble of Baltazar Faramond, an ambitious Violet Mage who wants to access Drake’s power in order to conquer Amathea.  The four must also confront their own pasts with the Covenant, the Shadow Houses, and the Mages Guild, as well as getting mixed up in political intrigue with Amathea, the imposing Empire of the Dragon, and numerous smaller peoples and cults.  All their encounters and obstacles bring them closer to their ultimate goal – freeing Drake and finding their own place in their world.