I saw the dream. I saw your face." The words of a lone shipwrecked survivor chill the blood of Gerin Atreyano, Crown Prince of Khedesh, for they warn of an approaching armada. The savage, unconquered and unconquerable Havalqa are coming, driven by visions of a power beyond comprehension. Whosoever controls the Words of Making can own the world—and the brutal, single-minded invaders will destroy anything that stands between them and the one man who possesses the secret to this awesome weapon: the Amber Wizard, Gerin Atreyano. But the Words are as much a mystery to Gerin as they are to the fearsome enemy who would make him their prisoner. And unless he can unravel the ancient magic—and defeat a relentless awakening terror—his home and his future will be ashes.