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Jovai is a strange and gentle girl, beloved of the spirits, whom the shaman intends to force on his people as his successor. The Vohee will not have her, however, and her gods will not let her rest safe in her valley among the people she loves. Her path is a long and treacherous one to the very heart of her enemies. Her destiny is not to be shaman, but to be something far greater and much more terrifying. It is she who will become the focal point of the awesome powers that will shatter the old world as they know it, leaving nothing but ruins from which the new world will grow.

When Jovai is forced out of the Vohee's isolated valley, she enters a dangerous world of strange cultures, powerful magic, unpredictable spirits and terrifying demons. In the south, the Akarians must feed a blood-hungry god to maintain the riches and power they crave. When their own criminals aren't enough, they turn on their allies, conquering and destroying any who resist them. The great Kolvas empire has fallen to the Akarians, and those who could escape have fled in search of the new home promised them by their gods. Meanwhile, to the north-east, the Dolkati have withdrawn from their traditional, nomadic ways and are hiding in the caverns beneath the desert, waiting for their promised hero or their annihilation, whichever comes first. But the innocent Vohee are inclined to welcome the Akarians as friends, enjoying the riches these traders bring, ignorant of the price they will be called upon to pay. As an exile, Jovai discovers what their fate will be and becomes determined to save them.

The setting of this fantasy is reminiscent of America before the European colonization. Although none of the cultures depicted are strictly based on any real tribe or culture, there are elements of the Aztecs, Incas, Mayans and pueblo and plains dwelling Native Americans among others. Horses are tamed and bred by the Dolkati and, to a lesser degree, by the Vohee, and the softer metals are worked. It is a world rich with a wide variety of mythologies, and the spirits, both good and evil, play an active role in this story.

Chapter 1 The spirit sings

Chapter 2 The unnatural girl

Chapter 3 A new master

Chapter 4 Many lessons

Chapter 5 Endings and beginnings