In the fractured land of Menkara, a religious witch hunt is about to take place in the province of Zandor. Ruled by Baron Frederick, who has recently turned from a life of debauchery to one of zealotry, three Bezrielites are rounded up and arrested using largely false pretenses. The people of Bezriel are known for their spiritual religion and their capability to invoke magic, but are not known for doing so in any aggressive way. Indeed, two of the arrests are Abigail, a midwife who can deliver babies in even the most complicated of pregnancies, and Sarah, a healer who has been capable of things that modern medicine cannot replicate. The arrests create a window for Lord Soren, leader of neighboring Thorheim, to depose the unpopular actions of Frederick and take a major first step toward his goal of reunifying Menkara. Sarah’s children Jonathan and Ariadne are simply just concerned with their mother’s freedom.

What seems at first as a benevolent move by Soren quickly snowballs into a campaign to indeed unify Menkara and install him at the top. Making all of this possible is the third freed Bezrielite witch: William, who practices the forbidden arts of necromancy. William agrees to aid Soren’s campaign as long as he is given the license and resources to continue his studies into necromancy. As Bezrielite sorcery paves the way for Soren’s conquests, Bezriel itself is in a war with its soul as to whether or not their magic ought to be used in such a way, and if they must achieve independence from Soren in order to protect their customs and traditions. Wrapped up in all of this is Sarah’s daughter Ariadne, who is revealed to be instrumental in an ancient Bezrielite prophecy: one that will lead Bezriel to glory or trigger its collapse and demise.

Though largely within the appearance of fantasy, considering the use of magic and the recent in-story invention of the musket, this is largely a story about religious co-existence and persecution, and the civil war that erupts as a result of that. The storytelling itself is somewhat unique, told through the perspective of a Bezrielite historian named Bartholomew, who has only minimal interaction with the story itself as it unfolds. This perspective allows the story to be told somewhat passively, focusing on historical detail and the occasional conversation as reported by one of the people involved. Bartholomew from time to time interjects with his own personal perspective as well, refuting accepted facts or providing additional insight based on his own experiences. The mechanism for storytelling is interesting and effective, but may take adjusting from those more used to omniscient narrators.

The pacing of the story is enjoyable and well-timed, not becoming distracted by the wealth of kingdoms and characters that it contains. Action and intrigue move briskly throughout the chapters, but languishes appropriately during indecisive moments by the teenage Ariadne, knowledgeable of her role in history and unsure which path she must walk down to do what is right for her and her people. The passive narrator eschews most conversations, and many of the military actions are distilled down to the decisive action that wins the day, but the world-building and the politics are engaging enough to keep readers eager to see what will happen next. For audiences that enjoy political fantasy, this is the first installment of a series that will enthrall and absorb, keeping them hungry for more. Those that prefer more sorcery and swordplay should still give it a chance, considering that a larger conflict appears to be on the horizon in the next book of the series.