Magic has failed. So has steel. Only a daring ruse can turn the tide of war. Baard Thon has undergone more dangers in a few months than a hundred warriors in their lifetimes. And as he faces an overpowering Wrathlord army, his trials are far from over. After losing the first battle, only an insane plan offers a glimmer of hope. If it fails, the monsters will roll over the decimated human and Firelven troops and march onto the capital to ravage and kill. If the scheme works, though, Baard might yet get a chance to pursue his dream: to destroy the realm's Wrathlords, ride his dragon to the mystery-shadowed Aganopean Empire, and learn silver-level magic from the Archmage. The plan is so fraught with peril that Baard ponders scraping it. Besides, his keen instincts warn him that a disaster awaits him regardless of the war's outcome...