The tug of history, often very ancient history, is felt throughout these works. A large amount of information about the past is disclosed in the narrative, but for the purposes of these extracts a reader needs to know that long before the land was Arbhal it was Owan, and the Owanil, a gifted, energetic, but often arrogant people conquered and then lost a vast empire on both sides of Arnan, the inland sea. After some centuries of obscurity, during which their island-based priesthood, the Atarlum, was essential to the preservation of the Owani culture and language, the Owanil, through a series of opportune events, were able to regain control of their old realm, imposing themselves as an aristocracy on a numerically superior mixed population of Other Races (their own slighting term for all those without a pure Owani pedigree). Their old speech, however (the Owanilú), has become a scholar's language, surviving mainly for ceremonial and religious purposes, and in titles and proper names. Kargul has been the strongest ally for the Atarlum, Preference, and the restoration of exclusive Owani privilege and power. Kamin Tolagh is the heir of one of the oldest and most powerful of all the Great Families. Books I and II begin shortly after the end of the Jinzal War and the investiture of the Rodlakh as Rabsahi. Kamin-Tolagh has won honor and recognition. He is now the trusted Captain of the Household. Yet, there are important confidences that are kept from him. He grows restless and yearns for adventure. The military expedition headed by Shumat, Captain of the Armies, and Kamin Tolagh set out to the Farther West on a mission to destroy the last of the jinzal. What he discovers changes the course of history