Mathias Eynon's dreams were small. A dabbler in magic, he expected to live in obscurity in his home in the Welsh hills, not drawing attention to himself. But fate has other plans for him. It is the Year of Our Lord Fifteen Ninety, and a revolution is quietly brewing, here and further abroad. Richard V has overstayed his rule, some say; others whisper that the whole line of Demon Kings must be burned out. Mathias - son of a man executed for the practice of magic - is set to become a symbol, and a leader. And to do that, he needs champions. A wise woman sends him to the corners of the known world - to the frozen lands of the north, to the pirate-haunted ports of Spain, to the mountains of the German Empire, to the burning sands of the Holy Land - to bring back masters of the four magic arts. With Richard's Witch Hunters on his heels, he sets out to gather his allies.