"After surviving a dragon bite that would have killed anyone else, Astrid believes she's protected by a strange stone that emerged out of the sole of her foot. She travels through foreign countries in search of an alchemist who can identify the stone and its powers. But then Astrid stumbles across the path of a powerful warlord intent on using a new faith to control others. Desperate to protect her home and people from him, she's convinced the answer somehow lies inside the stone of darkness and the powers she believes it must hold"--Page 4 of cover.