Ever long has young nobleman Rolf Buckmann dreamt of knighthood, losing himself in stories of endless errantry and grand gallantry. But that dream seemed ever a dream when his life came crashing down—upon the rite of the Roun of Orisons, Rolf was met with silence from all-goddess Yoná, Most Divine, and thus spurned of Her gift of odyl: the spring of magick strength, to all of whom heretofore were graced. Branded as an aberration and heretic both, Rolf leaves his scornful family and embarks on a tortured path to knighthood, along with Emilie Mernesse, his beloved and now formerly betrothed. Together, they navigate a society mired in cruelty and contradiction, and find themselves faced with dilemmas that threaten to upturn their lives forevermore.