Valdemar and Karse are now in Alliance with one another...a huge shock to both sides since they were at war with one another for so long they didn't even remember how it started! SunPriest Ulrich and his Secretary, Sunpriest-apprentice Karal are sent into Valdemar as Envoys. In this book we get to know the history of Karse and we learn about Karal a great deal. FireSong now has a new lover, An'desha, whose body Mornelithe Falconsbane had claimed his own. But now that the evil mage is gone, An'desha can discover himself. Ancar is gone and Hardorn is in ruins from his rule. The Eastern Empire, a huge land that relies on magic and is very powerful, is moving in to take over but is meeting with resistance from the Hardorians. to make matters worse, Mage storms are starting. They are the returning echoes from the Cataclysm that happened when Urtho, the Mage of Silence, died. Now they are returning through time and in reverse, starting with small storms that make even a person with limited mage ability disabled with huge headaches. Magic is becoming unreliable. How can they stop this and the Empire?

In this book, the storms are getting worse and are more frequent. Living creatures are being changed into monsters and huge circle of land are dissapearing to be replaced by land from all around the world. Karal is now the envoy from Karse and is a full SunPriest because Ulrich, his mentor, was murdered. As Karal struggles to gain the respect of the other Council members, An'desha and Firesong are having their own problems. They are breaking apart, An'desha is trying to find himself and his own path, but does that path include Firesong? Tremane, the once military leader and proclaimed Heir to the throne of the Empire is now in Hardorn. He and his men decided not to be a part of an Empire that abandons its own people so they take up residence in Hardorn. Tremane begins to do very good things fo these people, they are beginning to trust him

In this book, everything is solved. Elspeth and Darkwind act as Envoys and go into Hardorn to meet their once-enemy Tremane. The people of Hardorn want to make him their King, but only under conditions. Karal, Firesong, An'desha, the gryphons, Sejanes (a mage of Tremanes) and Master Levy (a Mathematican and clever engineer) head towards the Dhorisha Plains. They are to go where the tower ruins are that were once home to Urtho and his people over a millenia ago. The Storms are returning to that spot and they are going there to try and prevent another Cataclysm from occuring that will possibly destroy them all. Urtho was a great experimentor that had created very dangerous Weapons to use against Ma'ar. He deamed them too dangerous to use and sealed them in a chamber of the tower. The Kalenedral, Sworn ones to the Goddess, have been protecting these things from greedy mages. But now, maybe they are of use