Two empires grind against each other across the Gray Wastes, and caught between them is a rogue Archmage whose private agenda is revenge—beginning the process of unlocking the mythical Gates that hold the pieces of the Goddess of Destruction. Lyssa Symbril, Captain of the Guard in Northern Senda, is called to investigate what seems like a routine attack in the midlands. The investigation changes everything she thought she understood about her world.