"I don't want to be a wizard!" The Nation is full of young cousins who
dream of being a wizard. All that power, all that glory, all that
smiting of enemies. All that work. All that loneliness. But the power
chooses who will wield it. And on All Fools' Day, in the 13th year of
the reign of Danu Elizabeth, the 25th Matriarch, the Shadowed Rooster
power passes to an untrained foundling. All because the previous Dare
d'Shadowed Rooster drank coffee instead of the time travelling tea, and
was blown out of existence. Thus, with a Skald for an Advisor, a stone
puppy for a Familiar, and a skill for turning living flesh into statues,
a reluctant young woman takes the responsibility and saves the Families
again and again. And despite her attempts to give the power away, she
may find herself in a place where she will fight to keep it.