Rasim al Ilalio doesn't mean to cause trouble wherever he goes, but a year of disasters lies in his wake. A war is brewing, but returning to his beloved city of Ilyara isn't an option--not until he's brought a friend home again, and has warned their people of the conspiracy he believes affects them all. But in the distant Shenryalan steppelands, a new threat emerges: not just human scheming, but magical beasts that have slumbered...