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Erenthrall--sprawling city of light and magic, whose streets are packed with traders from a dozen lands and whose buildings and towers are grown and shaped in the space of a day.

At the heart of the city is the Nexus, the hub of a magical ley line system that powers Erenthrall. This ley line also links the city and the Baronial plains to rest of the continent and the world beyond. The Prime Wielders control the Nexus with secrecy and lies, but it is the Baron who controls the Wielders. The Baron also controls the rest of the Baronies through a web of brutal intimidation enforced by his bloodthirsty guardsmen and unnatural assassins.

When the rebel Kormanley seek to destroy the ley system and the Baron's chokehold, two people find themselves caught in the chaos that sweeps through Erenthrall and threatens the entire world: Kara Tremain, a young Wielder coming into her power, who discovers the forbidden truth behind the magic that powers the ley lines; and Alan Garrett, a recruit in the Baron's guard, who learns that the city holds more mysteries and more danger than he could possibly have imagined... and who holds a secret within himself that could mean Erenthrall's destruction -- or its salvation.

The Nexus--the hub created by the Prime Wielders to harness the magical power of the ley lines for the city of Erenthrall, the Baronial Plains, and the world beyond--has Shattered, the resultant pulse cascading through the system and leaving Erenthrall decimated, partially encased in a massive distortion.

The world has fared no better: auroral storms plague the land, transforming people into creatures beyond nightmare; silver-white lights hover over all of the major cities, the harbinger of distortions that could quicken at any moment; and quakes brought on by the unstable ley network threaten to tear the earth apart. The survivors of this apocalypse have banded together in desperate groups, both in the remains of Erenthrall and in small enclaves beyond the city, scrounging for food and resources in an ever more dangerous world.

Having survived the initial Shattering, Wielder Kara Tremain and ex-Dog Allan Garrett have led their small group of refugees to the Hollow, a safe haven in the hills on the edge of the plains. But the ley system is not healing itself. Their only option is to repair the distortion that engulfs Erenthrall and to fix the damaged ley lines themselves. To do that, they'll have to enter a city controlled by vicious bands of humans and non-humans alike, intent on keeping what little they've managed to scavenge together.

But as soon as they enter the streets of Erenthrall, they find themselves caught up in the maelstrom of violence, deception, and betrayal that the city has descended into--including the emergence of a mysterious and powerful cult calling themselves the White Cloaks, whose leader is known as Father....

He is the same man who once led the terrorist group called the Kormanley and brought about the Shattering that destroyed the world!

Wielder Kara Tremain and Allan Garrett have seized control of the new Nexus--the hub of magical power for Tumbor city--created by the White Cloak cult at the Needle, taking their leader prisoner. Kara intends to use the Needle's Nexus to heal the distortion over the city, allowing the ley network to stabilize. But the distortion here is huge, and Kara will need the help of all of the Wielders at the Needle, including the White Cloaks. Can she trust them, or will they betray her, possibly destroying any chance of healing the ley network altogether?

Meanwhile, Allan journeys back to their home city, hoping to form alliances with survivors of the disaster there, only to discover that Erenthrall itself has sunk into the ground and the vicious groups left there have banded together in an even more hostile faction. They attack while Allan is treating with the eastern Temerite enclave, forcing Allan and the Temerites to flee back to the Needle and abandon Erenthrall.

But the Needle is no safe haven. The White Cloaks have begun fomenting unrest, all of it targeted at Kara and the Wielders. The tensions escalate beyond control when their leader declares he's had a vision--a vision predicting the annihilation of reality itself!