Book 1 of The Aquasilva Trilogy. "On the storm-wracked waterworld of Aquasilva, supreme religious power is held by the domain, dedicated to the element fire. But this must change... One of the agents of change - albeit unwillingly - is Cathan, son of a count, who travels to inform his father of the discovery on a cache of iron in their territory. But on the way to the clan congress which his father is attending, Cathan stumbles upon a plot to unleash a new age of fundamentalism."