Four centuries after its founding, Solidar's Collegium of
Imagers is in decline, the exploits of its founder, the
legendary Quaeryt, largely forgotten. The Collegium is so
lacking in leadership that the dying Maitre must summon
Alastar, an obscure but talented senior imager from Westisle
far to the south who has little knowledge of politics in the
capital, as his successor.
When Alastar arrives in L'Excelsis and becomes the new
Maitre, he finds disarray and lack of discipline within the
Collegium, and the ruler of Solidar so hated by the High
Holders that they openly refer to him as being mad. To make
matters worse, neither Rex Ryen, ridiculed as Rex Dafou, nor
the High Holders have any respect for the Collegium, and
Alastar finds himself in the middle of a power struggle,
with Ryen demanding that the Collegium remove the strongest
High Holders and the military leadership in turn plotting to
topple Ryen and destroy the Collegium. At the same time,
Ryen is demanding the High Holders pay a massive increase in
taxes while he initiates a grandiose building project. And
all that, Alastar discovers, is only a fraction of the
problems he and the Collegium face.