Now that the war is over, it is time to right the wrongs of the prior generations and to undo the damage done by the Magi. It is no small task to establish a new society, especially when it is is being built upon the ashes of two old ones, as both former kingdoms still maintain a lot of strong feelings and biases that don't just disappear because the war is over. Kirron hopes to establish a new role for the dragon jousters in a society no longer dominated by war, while Aket-ten complicates his life as she strives for equal female representation amongst the jousters. Old prejudices die hard though as female dragon jousters is not a concept that Tia or Alta would have been willing to embrace. As everyone pours their hearts into finding a way to build something better for the future they quickly come to realize that they may not have the time to do so as there are other threats out there ready to pounce on them while they are in a vulnerable state.

The Magi have emerged from the shadows and their power is now openly wielded across both Tia and Alta as the war rages on. Any who dare oppose them are swiftly met with retribution and the people of both countries are suffering greatly. Kirron and his new generation of dragon jousters set their focus on building up Sanctuary in the ruins of an old desert city as a safe haven for those in need. With roots on both sides of the war, the main characters all come together to form the leadership of Sanctuary and they choose to welcome people from both Tia and Alta into their midst. It doesn't take long for this policy to stretch their limited resources too thin as their population continues to swell with refugees.  Amidst the challenges of merging these two cultures together, the dragon jousters are pushed to their limits running night time missions to save as many people as possible. Unfortunately they are too few in number to save everyone. Eventually their efforts catch the attention of the Magi and then things take a turn for the worse.

With book 2 the focus of the story shifts to the other side of the war as Kiron, formerly known as Vetch, returns to his homeland and starts to learn about his own people. Born on a farm and captured by the enemy as a child, Kiron has never really experienced Altan society, but he is about to get a crash course. He hopes that his return will help swing the war in the favor of the Altans once he shares all of the secrets that he learned as a dragon-boy in Tia, but he also knows that he is still too young, as is his dragon, to engage in the conflict directly. Not that he would want to at this point either because even though Ari helped him return home, he also issued him a warning: If the two ever meet in battle, Ari will do his duty for Tia. Kiron owes Ari his life and he has no plans to just throw it away by going up against him in battle because Ari is still the best dragon jouster that has ever lived.

Vetch is a Altan serf and the favorite whipping boy of Khefti the fat, his Tian master. Tia and Alta have been at war for generations and a captured serf like Vetch is lower than a slave in Tian society, with less rights to boot. Vetch was born on the land that is now owned by Khefti and that means he has no hope of ever leaving it. He lives his life fueled by hatred of Khefti and his only dreams involve bad things happening to his overweight master. Then one day a Dragon Jouster named Ari comes out of the sky and stops at Khefti's well for a drink of water. This prevents Vetch from fetching the water that Khefti ordered him to get, so of course he receives a beating as punishment. When Ari witnesses this treatment he decides to take Vetch with him and turn him into a dragon-boy as is his right as a member of the King's army. Vetch knows nothing of dragons but he is accustomed to hard work and he intends to do his best even for his new master. Life as the dragon-boy assigned to Kashet, Ari's dragon, is definitely an improvement for Vetch. However, he still feels very alone as the only dragon-boy in the compound who is a serf, and he still harbors a deep resentment of all Tians for killing his father.