Long ago, the world of Beryl was shattered when magicians unleashed their full power in the Starfall War. In the aftermath, the survivors of the Twenty-One Races decided that no mage should ever again be allowed to try to unlock the secrets that led to that disaster.Almost three thousand years after the Starfall, a young Human woman discovers that she has the potential to learn the art of magic - but no mentor willing to teach her until a powerful but eccentric benefactor takes her under his wing. She soon finds herself enmeshed in his agenda, a pawn in events that may decide the fate of her world as echoes of the Starfall re-emerge.But this pawn holds an unexpected power of her own, and there are many contending factions on Beryl. Some want to help her; some want to use her for their own ends; and some simply want her destroyed.