Fourteen-year-old Jonathan has one goal: to become a powerful mage. Having outgrown his small-town tutor, he seeks an apprenticeship with one of the archmages residing in the pastoral town of Newfalls. He's accepted by the formidable Lord Mage "Black Hand," and begins a grueling apprenticeship that pushes his courage and magic to the limit. When events from the master's past catch up to him, Jonathan finds himself caught in the struggle between two wizards who are trying to assassinate his master, and a head of state who is willing to sacrifice his son for a book.

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