Kiron and his friends, established in a desert cliff dwelling seemingly made for dragons, must not only bring order to the new society, but be on guard against Magi who might try to achieve conquest surreptitiously after failing to win with violence.

Within the Eastern Empire, Duke Kordas Valdemar rules a tiny, bucolic Duchy that focuses mostly on horse breeding. Anticipating the day when the Empire's exploitative and militant leaders would not be content to leave them alone, his father gathered magicians in the hopes of one day finding a way to escape and protect the people of the Duchy from tyranny. One of the Duchy's mages find there is a way to place a Gate at a distance so far from the Empire...