In a land of eagle-riding knights, bloodthirsty beasts, and a ruthless tyrant, young Morlen retreats from thousands of snapping jaws with the stolen Goldshard in his grasp. Its power to bestow strength and invincibility is just a panicked whisper away, and he’d feel naked without it while he fights the sinister forces that follow him at every turn.
Fortunately, he gains a few peculiar allies: a legendary warrior reluctant to leave his sheltered paradise, a wizard tormented by his past, and the untamable bird of prey that kings and heroes have sought for centuries.