Demosyna is charged with reaching the abandoned Wise-woman Order, but the unproven apprentice soon claws at any magic that will help her survive the timeless Empress. Chain and crystal bind every corner of the northern mountains, and Demosyna flees across the frozen continent in the hope of atonement and understanding. All generations have known the taste of ash and salt, while the fractured Demosyna is born into an eternal struggle for control within the Fist.