Here is an epic fantasy from the dawn of creation, from the first worlds, the Bright Worlds. Among them is Irth. And upon Irth, in a realm of wizards, witch queens, and magic, destiny casts shadows into the Gulf and onto the Dark Shore, a universe of blacker magic and deeper mysteries - the greatest of which is Earth.

Irth is a world where magic rules - magic that radiates from the Abiding Star. The nobility, possessors of most of this mystic energy, dwell in floating cities that drift above their realms, plotting against each other for domination.

The nobility cast into the abyss those who fail in their attempts to hold or usurp power. There, the outcasts fall into the cold world of the Dark Shore - onto Earth - whence no one has ever returned...until now.

Hu'dre Vra, formerly an abject scavenger who found a magical sword but failed to use it wisely, plummeted into the abyss, only to return from the Dark Shore with an awesome new power: black magic. At the head of an army of cacodemons impervious to Irth's enchantments, Hu'dre Vra the Dark Lord wreaks a terrible vengeance upon the world that exiled him.

But there is resistance to the Dark Lord's rule of terror. The mysterious, inventive thief Ripcat and his crafty partner, Dogbrick, form an uneasy and dangerous alliance with the brave young noblewoman Jyoti and her small band of comrades, among whom is her family's ancient sorcerer, Caval. Together, they all must pit their courage, their wits, and their lives against the brutal minions of the Dark Shore.