Universal Misfortune sent a long winter upon the land and left many orphans behind. Hard times came, rich in grief over losses… In a foreign family, in a remote village, an adopted child grew up—a prince Svetel, miraculously saved, the heir to an once mighty empire. He decides to become a knight in order to find and save his brother Skvara, who was forcibly taken from home. And so Svetel, yesterday’s boy, marches in the retinue ranks beneath the sky of eternal winter. He makes homemade psalteries, endures mockery from the elders, the hardships of the road, pain and bruises of training—all so that one day, having become a mighty warrior and a leader, he will shatter the Black Five one stone at a time and rescue his beloved brother! Meanwhile, at times very close, there is a path of Skvara winding through hills and wastelands—now a secret warrior. Shadow within shadow, a whirlwind of weightless drift-snow, the glint of a swift knife… The brothers’ paths come together nearly at once, then split apart again. Is a meeting fated for them? And in an underground book repository, a small light never goes out day or night. A young scholar, busy with peaceful inquiries, feels the breath of mysteries that can shake royal thrones. And then, one day, a chain of events is set in motion, leading to an unexpected turn…