A marauding horde. A famed city. A lone man who stands between them.Can one man defy an army? Only one of the legendary Raithlin would try. But trying is not succeeding - or even surviving.Lanrik is confident in the time-honored skills of the Raithlin scouts. He tries to slow the army long enough for a warning to reach his home city. But treachery, political intrigue and ties of loyalty test him more than the enemy.He forms a bold plan against overwhelming odds to protect all that he loves. But his choices lead him ever deeper into a life-changing struggle. Dark forces of sorcery and witchcraft are on the move. So too are the powers that contend with them. The conflict draws him into a quest for the safety of the whole land and toward a girl who comes to mean more to him than anything. He enters a world of magic: sometimes beautiful, often perilous and always unpredictable.