Brackenrock Towering aloof and secure, the isolated fortress offers humankind a place to survive and flourish in the barren realm of Icereach. Even the elven Messenger Kerrick Fallabrine has made a home there, living among the humans and teaching them a multitude of skills. But the ogre enemies are always near, and they have developed a powerful weapon, a destructive magic encased within a sphere of solid gold. Its existence forces the humans to confront the threat of extinction that lurks outside their walls. In the second book of this epic trilogy that began with *The Messenger* , Douglas Niles carries the reader into the heart of an unknown realm, where the world beneath the Icewall trembles with threats of war, slavery, and greed.