The Order of Hermes is supreme, unchallenged in its mastery of magic. All other magicians are hedge wizards ... maybe interesting to researchers, but certainly no threat. Or so magi of the Order tell each other. And most of them actually believe it.

The four traditions in this book prove the folly of that complacency:

• The Amazons, female warrior wizards beyond the borders of Europe, harbor a deep hatred of the Order for reasons that no magus could ever guess.
  
• The Augustan Brotherhood serves as court wizards, supporting its political ends with mundane force as much as with magic discovered in the tomb of Virgil.
  
• In the icy north, the Muspelli plot to release their jotun masters and destroy the world in frost and fire.
  
• And in the the distant east, the powerful Soqotran sorcerers dwell quietly on their island, staying out of politics and looking nervously at the expansionist Order.

How long can the Order of Hermes maintain its pleasant illusion of superiority?