Orc.

A dirty word, an abominable race.

And I, a pailiken's kid, am the least of them all.

My escape from a pailiken's fate arrives, not by any of my plans, but by way of the first elf to venture into the orccan village. Magic? Me? But I'm an orc.

But off we ride across the wastelands to Bixarth Sanctuary, a school for gifted orphans. Food no longer scarce, an education beyond manual labor and childcare, and a hope to decide my own fate.

Being the only orc in a magic school, and brought in so much older than the others had been, I have so much to catch up on, both in knowledge and a new hierarchy.

In my efforts to prove myself, someone takes the pranks too far, leaving the blame on me, and my time at Bixarth is threatened. Nobody outside, including my village, would take me in.

If I can't make things right, could I survive in the wasteland on my own?