There is only one place this scepter can be acquired – at the mysterious Temple of Wisdom, somewhere in the Jahaziel Mountains. Brandun doesn’t feel ready to journey there. He is only thirteen, and the death of his uncle, King Eadric, has broken his heart. But there is no choice. Danger threatens the king’s widow, Queen Aeldra, in the form of a sinister lord who wants power. The only way Brandun can help her is to prove himself worthy to be heir to the throne. And tradition demands that this worthiness be proved by bringing back a new scepter from the Temple of Wisdom.

But will Brandun be the one chosen at the Temple, or will it be his aloof older cousin, Kempe, who has been sent on this journey as well? Their quest is further complicated when they are joined by Larke, a girl haunted by frightening dreams, who is trying to escape from dangers of her own.

Together, these three enter the strange world of the Jahaziel Mountains, a place where good and evil are revealed in ways they have never seen. Here, Brandun comes face to face with truths about Kempe, about himself, and about a God he had never given much thought to.