Alaric wanted most to make his family proud. Join the Militus, be the best soldier possible, marry Tabitha, and settle in Southlake. A simple life, to be sure, but Alaric has always been comfortable with simple. Life, however, becomes ever more complex when barbarians attack, killing Alaric's uncle during a routine trip to a local mountain outpost. Lira has never been simple, nor longed for a simple life, wanting to change almost everything about the destiny she was born to. Her Father can't see her worth beyond bedding his allies, and she longs to prove herself worthy of honor on her own merit. Desperate to escape her fate, she sets out to find a better life or a worthy death. In the midst of a barbarian invasion and a religious revolution, Alaric and Lira struggle to find their places in a violent and magical world where immortal beings wage war with their mortal pawns. Ancestors, gods, or demons? Hard to say. The horns could be a clue...