Synopsis: Dark Lady's Troubadour

Elakand is ravaged by droughts. High Priest Osgaron's fanatic Speakers of Light seek out and "purify" heretic followers of the Dark Lady in holy fire to asuage the god, Brocar's wrath. A mysterious herbalist, Tora, bandages the injuried of Sir Loriano of Vayne, troubadour. Abruptly she goes into a trance and, In return for her services, she sends him on a quest to bring her back two tokens from the treasure inside a drakken's cave atop a distant mountain. Loriano gives her five follies instead and plans to go on his way. He's performing in a nearby village square when Frater Danil, a Speaker of Light and his entourage arrive and start questioning the villagers about witches. Loriano goes to warn Tora. She turns on him, furious, for betraying her, and sends him away. Frater Danil catches him and, when Tora is found to have fled, forces Loriano to help destroy her property. A woman on a mule is seen riding toward the empty lands. Frater Danil takes Loriano and pursues Tora across the Empty Lands. When she's captured, Loriano helps her escape, and they flee for the free merchant city of Candelei. There, Tora is locked in a "purdeem." The spice drug, mautrona, helps Tora control her "fits." Corvid, a wealthy merchant, offers Loriano marriage to his daughter, Rose. Loriano discovers that mautrona is addictive, and Tora learns it causes the birth defects that plague the city. On the wedding night, Loriano learns that Rose is already pregnant by her brother. He manages to get Tora out of the purdeem and the three flee across the desert. Rose dies of a miscarriage, despite Tora's efforts. However, the girl resembles a Holy One who taught the desert Nomen tribes. For this reason, they spare Loriano and Tora, who make it to the Sacred Mountain. There, they get separated. Tora is trapped behind a landslide in a cave. Loriano tries to find a way to rescue her. He ascends the mountain and confronts an enormous golden drakken statue, whose tongue laps over an ancient altar. He steps on the tongue to reach for the gold. It triggers a mechanism that flips him down inside a cave. He cannot get out. He wanders tunnels, searching for water and food. He loses his sword. When he swears to make a song for the Dark Lady, Rose's ghost leads him to a rock door. It opens to a vast, crystalline tunnel. A trickle of water flows on the far side. To his surprise, Tora enters the chamber from a different direction. She'd discovered the High Priestess's chamber and a vast library of ancient documents. She'd spoken with the goddess Zophra. She was the last true High Priestess reborn, and her "fits" were the goddess trying to speak through her. A rock has fallen, blocking the Waters of Life from the world. Loriano's song to the Lady shatters a stalactite, releasing the waters into the world. Tora and Loriano ride out on the flood and return to Elakand to make their way to the royal palace at Pareskon and confront the High Priest.