Kirel is a confused young man, almost convinced he's a worthless failure. He'd been Lord of a fine estate, until he was deposed and divorced all at once. He'd been a trader's escort, until he'd all but died of boredom. He'd tried his hand as a caravan guard, until he had to kill a man.
Then Kirel discovered Scholastica, a strange town filled with scholars, students, and horses, Kirel's lifelong passion. In between classes and work in the stables, a snatch of better-than-average music drifted across the night air, drawing Kirel into a life-altering encounter with a young Bard, forcing Kirel to learn new ways of thinking and to wonder, at long last, just who he really was. Why did his armor bear the royal crest of a far-away kingdom? And what was he going to do with the rest of his life?