The Destruction violently tore the very fabric of nature itself--thousands perished, hot smoke blotted out the sun, and the world was drained of magic. Now, fourteen years later, the royal, scarlet-haired beauty Gemma is driven by a strange compulsion to sail to the Southern Continent. There, she unites with a mysterious young traveler known as Arden to save the Valley of Knowing from an evil genius whose center of power lies far to the south. In a world where alternate realities abound, where floating cities pass through camps at night and desert sands sing to unsuspecting travelers by day, newborn lovers Gemma and Arden must try to solve the riddles of their very existence. They come to know the true source of dreams, the astonishing secrets of the stone, and discover that magic in their world is far from dead--and frighteningly perilous.