And when the ancient fire fell to embers, The goddesses of old wept at the destruction wrought, And the price paid for its beautiful terror. Magic in Albion is born, not made. And yet, as a dark and ancient foe makes its move across the continent, apothecary and physician Cadwgan stumbles into creating a power that never should have surfaced. His discovery throws him into the dangerous world of the Southern court, fighting to keep up the ruse of being a natural-born mage. Meanwhile, fearsome fire mage Annowre is trying to keep her charge, the newly coronated young Queen of the North, alive amidist political strife and assassination attempts when she herself is gravely wounded by an attacker's incurable poison. When she wakes up in an infirmary, she finds that her queen has sought the help of the South to save her magical protector's life. But peace between their countries is recent and tenuous, and Annowre will need her full strength again if she is to protect the naive monarch from the re-emerging powers swarming across the horizon. Now the North and South are thrown together to face a new common enemy, and find out what happens when twisted arts combine to create the uncreatable. To create magic. Fans of A Song of Ice and Fire, The Lord of the Rings and The Witcher will love the first installment in this dark, epic fantasy quadrology inspired by Arthurian and Welsh mythology from debut author T. C. Emerys.