Content Warning: The source text uses misogynistic and ableist language, which is replicated in this guide only in direct quotes of the source material.

Aerin, the first sol (or female heir) of the kingdom of Damar, thinks about her mother, who was rumored to have died of despair after realizing that her child was a girl. Aerin wonders who told her this story, for she knows that those who love her, like her father, Arlbeth, and those who respect her, like the house servants (hafor), would never have done so. She suspects that her rival in court, the second sol Galanna, might have told her the story, or it might have been Galanna’s husband, the second sola, Perlith. However, Aerin suspects that neither of them would want to spend enough time with her to tell her the story at all.

Aerin has not seen her father, Arlbeth, or her best friend, Tor, the first sola and heir to the throne, in many weeks. They are trying to subdue a rebellion in the West, a conflict that has probably been provoked by demonic interference from the North. The chief of the council there, Nyrlol, wants to secede from the Damarian kingdom, so the royal house of Damar is riding out to confront him with violence if necessary.