In Cruachan, peace has reigned since Seamus, the first High King, united the three kingdoms into a Confederation and, with the assistance of the dwarfs from the Sawtooth Mountains in the north and the elves from the Tangled Woods in the east, drove the occupying Northmen from the island nation. Yet there is an undercurrent of unrest. Some Cruachanians fought for independence, thinking that the hereditary system of government with its shire chieftains and provincial kings would be replaced by a republic. Others, who profited handsomely under the occupiers, still dream of yesteryear's wealth. As Book #3 of the tetralogy (A Fire Rages in Cruachan) came to a close, the rebel forces of the Northern Alliance, under the command of the traitorous Most Venerable Máiréad, Archwizard of Cruachan, had laid siege to the Citadel of Cruachan.With High King Liam and Queen Teagan killed, Pádraig, alongside Ríoghán, King of the Northern Shires, and his sister, Fionnuala, manages to rescue Liam and Teagan's baby daughter, Brigid.Sending a wounded Ríoghán off to the security of the Kingdom of the Eastern Shires, Pádraig and Fionnuala, with the baby, climb the cliffs to the sacred grove of the citadel, intending to use the Trasghluaiseacht spell to teleport to safety from one of the oak trees.Confronted there by Máiréad, Pádraig realizes there is nowhere safe for them in Cruachan, and instead of voicing a specific location for the terminus of the translocation conduit, he puts his faith in An Fearglas, the Deity of Cruachan, and thinks, As far away from here as we can get.Still in contact with the oak tree, he watches Máiréad closely, as she suddenly looses a massive energy pulse from the tip of her staff.Hesitating for just a fraction of a second, Pádraig voices the final word of the Trasghluaiseacht spell.A magical portal opens in the trunk of the tree, and an invisible force yanks the threesome into the vortex at the oak's heart. They instantly vanish, and immediately the portal closes, the force from Máiréad's blast seemingly striking at the same moment, setting the tree on fire as if hit by lightning.They are disgorged from an oak at the terminus of the spell, less than a second before Máiréad's energy blast follows them through the portal, setting that tree on fire. Pádraig waves at the blaze to cancel the Trasghluaiseacht spell. Perplexed, he peers at his hand, having felt only a minuscule sensation of magic and realizing that it had been nowhere near the magnitude required to terminate the gateway. With the portal still active, Pádraig's thoughts turn to escape.But to where?
