In a world of magical power, merciless evil, and eternal darkness, the only light worth fighting for is the light you can never let die . . .In Underland, hope has nearly been extinguished. There is no sky, only endless stone above. All things living and undead exist under the dominion of the Dark Lords, whose power is all but unlimited and whose evil is all but eternal.Sorcerer Valdemar Verney is not one of them. The last of his line, Valdemar has devoted himself to locating his grandfather’s realm, a legendary place called Earth, where there is air and vibrant life, and where a sun shines in a blue sky. His latest attempt to uncover the way to Earth is thwarted, however, when the cunning Dark Lord Och captures him—not to imprison him, but to nurture Valdemar’s untrained yet formidable talents for his own ends.As Valdemar learns more than he ever dreamed possible, Och’s loyal and lethal swordmistress, Lady Reynard, is on her own quest for knowledge about Valdemar’s true heritage and brutal past, which he has thus far kept hidden—even from himself. But the more the sorcerer and swordswoman discover, the closer they come to unearthing an awesome truth that will either usher the world into a new era of light or plunge it into the darkest terror . . .