With the help of Mistras band Snydur sets up a post on the slopes below the Enscarf where his fledgling army trains. Boldly, he seizes the nearby Palace on the Clowm, making it the control center for the scattered resistance to Jaltrans black-clad army. Burdened with the duties of command, Snydur finds himself distracted by his relationship with three women, Ashoma on whom he has come to rely, the girl Roo, for whom he has reluctantly accepted as his charge, and Palix, his love, who, for disturbing reasons, has become distant. The enemy grows stronger daily, while the opposition gains strength with agonizing slowness. War draws near.
