​The battle has been won, but the war rages on-- and in order to find the secret to defeating the Soldiers of Sorrow once and for all, it's up to John and Violet to journey beyond the Mountains of Mystery for the first time in thousands of years. (Well, there was that one expedition but they all died horribly so it really doesn't count.) John and Violet, joined by a host of allies and enemies old and new, will find themselves tested as never before in this strange and wild beyond. But with John high on a power which he doesn't understand, one which seemingly brought him back from death, and Violet crippled by a loss of faith, it may be up to some new heroes to take center stage in this thrilling tale of change, self-discovery, and truth.

Two years ago, John and Violet Jenson found themselves in the Valley, a magical world where animals and humans lived together in peace. Now, they have returned, only to find that everything has changed. Their worst enemies, the Soldiers of Sorrow, have returned from the dead, shattering the Valley itself into two opposing sides. As John and Violet find themselves on opposing sides of the burgeoning conflict, they are forced to face forgotten truths about themselves and the ones they trust in this utterly unique tale of family, friendship, and warring ideologies.

After long and patient research I am still unable to give to the reader of these Chronicles the exact date of the times that they tell of. Were it merely a matter of history there could be no doubts about the period; but where magic is concerned, to however slight an extent, there must always be some element of mystery, arising partly out of ignorance and partly from the compulsion of those oaths by which magic protects its precincts from the tiptoe of curiosity.

Winner of the SKOW Best Fantasy Award! Sora Fallcrest always dreamed of adventure, but as a member of the nobility, she learned the ways of a Lady instead. Now seventeen, she is expected to choose a husband and marry. She plots to run away, but just as she is stepping out the door, she runs into a mysterious man--and is kidnapped. Abducted from her manor, Sora is plunged into a world of magical races, arcane jewelry and forgotten lore. She finds herself at the mercy of a dangerous assassin, haunted by an even darker past. She yearns for freedom, but he won't let her go--not when her Cat's Eye necklace is the only thing that can save his life. But the necklace itself presents a problem. It is an ancient device from the long forgotten War of the Races, and its magic has the ability to steal souls. Can Sora learn to wield its power -- or will the power wield her?

Reproduction of the original: Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada by Washington Irving