When the dying Heron refuses to name a successor, Lark, witch of Upthegrove, fears the end of the world she knows. Without their seer, how can Blue Grass people maintain harmony with sky and land? Portents of death increase her unease.
An earthquake opens an old treasure trove, revealing to Lark and Jay, a local farmer, ritual objects once used in the Festivals forbidden by the Domene conquerors, but they are guarded by a “changeling,” a corpse-like wooden guardian animated by spells. To both of them the changeling looks oddly familiar. Lark glimpsed him in a vision. But Jay says the wooden man looks like his brother, Windland.
Deep in the Caverns, the Council of the Domed City controls an empire. To protect its border, Ward Jihan works toward building a military complex in the Blue Grass. That it will change the province beyond recognition would not concern him if not for his experiences in a remote village called Tanglevine. Jihan knows these people rely on powers unknown to his own people and fears they will summon these forces against him. His only connection to understanding what he must deal with is Windland, a caravan rider who guided him at Tanglevine, but who also deceived him.
Doubting he can gain Windland’s support, Jihan compels another to spy for him: Simura, Windland’s Domene wife.
