THE GODDESS IS DEAD.

For centuries Elminster Aumar served his goddess with the powers she granted him, battling tirelessly against the criminal forces of the Zhentarim, the shadow princes of Netheril, and the ruthless Red Wizards of Thay, making enemies he never had time to take care of, because the fate of the world always hung on his next move. But now

HIS GODDESS IS DEAD.

His protector-his lover, his goddess, his meaning and his means -- is gone forever. And now the mere touch of magic renders him mad. His enemies scent weakness. They are closing in, saying with one voice:

ELMINSTER MUST DIE!

When the goddess of magic was murdered, Elminster's world shattered. Once the most powerful wizard in the world, immortal, beloved of the goddess of magic, and the bane of villainy, he is now a tired old man. He is powerful but mortal, and with all the enemies a man who makes a habit of saving the world tends to accumulate.

To make matters worse, Elminster has needs - feeding powerful magic items to the Simbul, his lover, is the only thing that keeps her sane - but their increasingly risky collection leads his enemies right to him.

Elminster's archenemy, the vampiric Lord Manshoon, thinks he has destroyed Elminster at last. But Elminster survives in the form of magical ash, and with the help of his scion and the vestige of the long-dead goddess of magic, he still has a chance to counter Manshoon's insidious plots.

Commanded by the vestige of Mystra to work together, Manshoon and Elminster engage instead in a ferocious battle that sends the Sage plummeting into the Underdark as a cloud of ashes. Elminster soon inhabits the body of a fallen dark elf, so that he can begin carrying out Mystra's orders to rally Cormyr's Wizards of War, seek blueflame items to mend immense rifts throughout the realms that are releasing deadly monsters, and prevent the ancient Primordials from rising and unleashing their rage. But his sworn archenemy, Manshoon, has plans as well: To conquer Cormyr and be the new Emperor, and hunt down the Sage's clones. The battles are fierce, the stakes have never been higher, and the fate of Cormyr is on the line. Meanwhile, War Wizards are being mysteriously assassinated...