Sixteen-year-old Ice Mage Nuala would rather hide under the covers than journey out into the unknown. When her home is attacked and her father murdered, the novice is forced to crawl out of her comfort zone in pursuit of Jarlath, the power hungry Earth Mage who killed her father. Even worse, Nuala discovers Jarlath has found a way to acquire all four Elements: Earth, Ice, Fire and Wind -- a feat forbidden by the gods, which require terrible acts of sacrifice and murder. If he succeeds, it could mean the destruction of the delicate balance that holds the Elements and people of Tartha together.
Jarlath needs only Ice to complete his rise to power and he has set his sight on Nuala to acquire it. Now the one being pursued by her father’s murderer, the Ice Mage befriends three others along the way, each Mage blessed with the Elements of Fire, Earth and Wind. Their only clue to defeat Jarlath is a cryptic message from Mother Earth - “Not one with four, but four as one.” With her confidence in her abilities tested at every strike from Jarlath, Nuala must fight through her fears with the help of her friends. The four Mages must figure out the clue and how to defeat Jarlath before he acquires all the Elements and destroys them first. But the answer to the riddle leaves them with a daunting choice: risk their Elements and their lives to save Tartha, or save themselves and watch their world fall to the enemy.
