In the Lands Within, history does not rest. Each archaeological layer speaks to the living generation, carefully choosing its friends and enemies--and its kings. But now an alliance has been struck no one could have forseen, and an ancient evil is soaking into the soil. History is being erased, purchased and re-written at a terrible price. And a kingdom that shouldn't have been forgotten is fading from memory. In the Lands Without, archaeologist Lori Brickland has found a pottery shard with a heartbeat. The pulse might be a trick of the mind, or it might be the first sign of life in a world of ruin. An exiled traveler will say she shouldn't search for the truth, a calculating ruler will say she's the one he's looking for. And the kingdom? The kingdom will need her before the end. It's time to accept what she's always known... This isn't archaeology. This is war.