Flindas, Tris and Leana, carrying their fragment of the Seacrest are trapped behind enemy lines in inhospitable terrain. Maradass sends armies of horsemen, savage dogs and stone-men against the Regions. Meanwhile the green-and-brown clad Elbrand armies of the Iles of Zeta prepare to sail to their defence. Yet in the gathering epic clash, it is perhaps the secrets of the deep past, and the visions seen by Kerran, the young hero, on which the fate of the lands may lie.

＂They are all around you,＂ said the Wizard mysteriously, raising his hands and waving them towards the room. ＂They arrived here at a different time and so they remain locked into that time. The tower seems but an empty vessel to the ones who have not looked deeply into the shadows.＂