Darian is apprentice to the Wizard Justyn in a small Valdemaran village. He is unwilling to hone his skill in magic as he believes it is quicker more efficient to achieve your ends by purely physical methods. When Errold Green is suddenly and devastatingly attacked by a force of men accompanied by monstrous creatures of magic, Justyn makes a dramatic last stand, destroying the village in a cataclysmic spell that Darien witnesses. Escaping into the forest, Darien is chased down by three of the enemy only to be saved at the point of capture by the mysterious Hawkbrothers. It is the beginning of a new life where he will for the first time realise the worth of the magical talent he has always wanted to be rid of.