He hears voices in his head. Hoping for a cure, his father enrolls him in the Temple of Differe School. Joel finds the cure is worse than the disease when the headmaster imprisons him in the dungeon-like Moonstruck, where he and another student must take their lessons alone.
Joel believes escape is his only chance. With the help of an insider, he journeys to a place he has been told does not exist. Along the way, he picks up three companionsa mysterious man, a hotheaded young woman, and her sickly brother.
The four arrive in Waiz, where inhabitants revere something they call "The Majestic." Upon further investigation, Joel finds their object of worship is no more than an old black rock. Or is it?
The longer the four stay in Waiz, the more the animosity between Old Waiz and New Waiz threatens to boil over into war. Then someone murders an Old Waiz leader and Joel finds himself the accused.
Meanwhile, the headmaster is desperate to get Joel back and uses his past love as bait. Danger follows as he tries to find if his true freedom lies in a city on the brink of war, a school that indoctrinates, or a king no one can see.