The elves found him… …now they’re putting him to the test. As a life magic adept, the wizard Durndan faces his final – and most demanding – trial: tasked by the secretive and reclusive elves, he must reawaken the Heart of the Mountain, and thus disrupt the stranglehold that corrupting magic has on the human world. Yet the Heart lies in the hostile realm of the mysterious and warlike dwarves, so he cannot hope to complete the test alone. But his once tightly-knit fellowship of companions has developed dire physical and emotional rifts: internal distrust, captivity, and loss. How can he unite his allies and reforge their bonds of camaraderie? Can he master his abilities in time to reawaken the Heart of the Mountain? Or will he become a permanent fixture beneath those granite slopes, in winter clad