The world of Arden is vast, filled with ancient magics, opportunity, and brewing political disasters, but above all else it is permeated by an ever-existing and mysterious System that grants power to those who follow its rules. Peregrine Borncrest was fathered by a master druid and mothered by a renown swordswoman, both of near equal talent. Gifted with the power of recall as his unique, born trait, Pery finds himself grappling with the weight of so many expectations-many of which he has placed on his own shoulders. Called a potential prodigy, but outclassed by his parents and his elder brother alike, he doesn't feel as special as he thinks he should be-or as special as he fears others see him. When given the chance to leave the small village under his parents' protection to further his studies with both the blade and spellcraft, Pery doesn't hesitate to drive onward towards a potential destiny of his own. He will find, however, that the world of Arden favors no one in particular itself and that real life is considerably uglier and rougher than the legends of old may have him believe; and that, unfortunately, even the laws-and the ancient, morally alien spirits-that uphold reality can be forced to bend to the whims of just as archaic, selfish evils if left unprotected.