When twelve-year-old Kendra Kandlestar is granted a wand by the ancient tree of Een, she aspires to become a great sorceress, perhaps even greater than her own mother. But as Kendra struggles to unlock the secret of Een magic, an unlikely talisman falls into her hands—the Shard from Greeve.

The dark magic of the shard comes all too easily to Kendra, and its allure is soon impossible to resist. With the shard in her possession, Kendra decides to take matters into her own hands and embark on a quest to track down her lost brother in the wilds of the outside world.

And yet there is a war waging in the lands beyond the magic curtain of Een and Kendra soon finds herself in the midst of many a fierce battle, from a riotous brawl inside the smoky innards of a Gnome’s tavern, to a dramatic clash upon the sea-washed decks of a pirate’s galleon, to at last a raucous contest for survival in the dreary depths of the infamous Rumble Pit. In this dismal arena, young Kendra will be cast alongside Fauns and Centaurs, Dwarves and dragons, giants and unicorns, and even a mighty Peryton. And yet, perhaps the greatest battle of all will not take place within the dark and dangerous Rumble Pit, but inside Kendra herself, as she struggles to master the magic of the shard—and her own grumbling darkness.