[1] The sole survivor of a massacre, Caladrius, nicknamed Rook, has been living with the bards of Luly since the day he was rescued from the smoldering remains of his home.

Despite falling in love and having a son, Caladrius is unable to make peace with his memories, and so ventures into the world to discover how his family was destroyed – and why.

As Griffin tutors Damiet Pellior for an upcoming opera, the city's musicians hatch their own plots.

Armed with his picochet, a single-stringed instrument played by peasants, and a small bone pipe, Griffin challenges the Basilisk and exacts his revenge.

Pellior names his other daughter, Luna, a powerful magician who has been his apprentice all her life, as his heir.