"The Four Forges opens the gateway to Kerith, a world which has known its share of battles and tragedy. It is a land bereft of magic after the devastating Magi wars which killed off the Magi, leaving behind their Galdarkan minions, the fighters they had created to do their bidding. Warlike Galdarkans, peaceful Dwellers, Kernan tradesmen and merchants, and brutish Bolgers had all coexisted after the Magi wars until - carried on the wings of some otherworldly spell storm - the Vaelinars had mysteriously appeared from nowhere." "The Vaelinars had no memory of how they had come there, or who they really were. But little by little they pieced together a past for themselves and divided into opposing groups, carrying forward an enmity they scarcely understood. With them they brought a different sort of elemental magic, for they were able to hold sway over the gods of Kerith." "Now, generations after their arrival, Kerith stands at a turning point. The Accords that put an end to the Vaelinar feuds and conquests may soon be broken. Already there are many signs of evil to come, from deadly attacks upon the mostly rural Dwellers, to rumors of illegal arms being sold, to the pollution that is slowly spreading through the sacred Andredia River, to the attempted assassination of the Vaelinar Warrior Queen Lariel." "Those who wish to overturn the accepted order of things gather their forces in secret: from the weapon master Quendius who is willing to take advantage of these uncertain times to certain Vaelinar lords who are determined to shift the balance of power in their own favor. And those who would stand against them are a very odd mix indeed. Though they are led by Lariel Anderieon and her brother Jeredon, those who would preserve the peace include among their ranks: the Farbranches, the Dweller family who saved and adopted a Vaelinar child carried to them on the river; the child herself, named Rivergrace by the Farbranches, who has hardly a memory of her past, and is sought by far too many of the enemy for comfort; Sevryn, a Vaelinar half-breed, has pledged to serve Lariel and her cause, but what he can accomplish hinges on recovering twenty years of his life for which he cannot account; Rufus, an extraordinary Bolger, may prove an unexpected ally." "And even as the various Vaelinar Strongholds, Houses, and Lineages forge concealed alliances, those specially gifted wield their Talents - some turning to the mysteries of the dark side of nature, others following only the light - to create the Elven Ways - passages of power - always searching for the one Way that will take them back to the home they had lost centuries ago." "As hostilities escalate, and treachery abounds, two young people, one broken of soul and the other broken of mind, find their fates intertwined as mixed bloodlines both curse and bless them. Can a river-borne slave and a street-savvy half-breed find their own personal truth in time to avert a devastating civil war?"--BOOK JACKET.