When faced with the primal act of survival, how far would you go to stay alive? Compound this by 1,000, the number of your people in your care, with only you and your dwindling warriors here to protect them from a manic group of black dragons attacking. This is the exact predicament Khellin finds himself in.

As chieftain of the Ol'sackay, Khellin's main priority is the health and safety of his clan, but right now, both are being threatened. Astride his Winddoger, Khellin watches helplessly while hundreds of his warriors lay dying all around him in this bitter fight for their lives. Desperate, Khellin turns to the only being left that can possibly help his people—Aslean.

Hers are the gifts of Castalar, and she, at this point, is their only hope. Pressured by everything going on around him, Khellin will have to forfeit the responsibility of his clan to Aslean, who has offered to send the very ones he promised to protect into the unknown. Numbly, he holds on to the whispered promise floating in his mind that he will get them back when it is safe. But sacrifice is seldom measured with even scales, and Khellin's hope is that they tip his way.

Thrust into a position he never expected to find himself in, Brezlin, the youngest member of his family, must now prove that he has what it takes to lead. As the newly self-appointed leader of the currently displaced Ol'Sackay, Brezlin must now forge ahead into this unfamiliar land with unexpected dangers and impossible obstacles awaiting them. Brezlin's insecurities build having his shortcomings pointed out in comparison to Khellin. Can he gain their trust and respect enough to follow him in this new life?