A VERY LONG TIME AGO, LONG BEFORE THE TIME OF MEN,Galasien ruled. Its world was wide with trade and commerce, and sustained by wizardry.

But besides wizardry, there was native magic in the world. Far to the north, in the frozen wastes, the Sihhe existed. They might have been first of all. The Galasieni seemed to believe so.

...

Sixteen years have passed... at long last, King Cefwyn must rebuild his devastated realm.., and a forsaken prince returns to save a kingdom under siege.

Two surprising allies have emerged to aid the embattled ruler in a struggle he must win: Cefwyn's two young sons. Aewyn Marhanen is the prince destined to rule.Aewyn's half-brother, Elfwyn Aswydd-the bastard son of the king and the sorceress Tarien Aswydd-has spent years unaware of his parentage, yet now it is his time to emerge and claim the gifted birthright he's been denied for so long.

But a dark, sinister magic has crept close to the young man and seized hold of the kingdom. Nothing is as it seems, as the bonds of family strain against the powerful forces that would see them undone-and the battle is joined to unmask and destroy the malevolence that threatens to unhinge the king's peaceful and fragile reign.