Five gems there are to act as keys

For the gate to the land of death.

In silver, over mountain, beyond the trees,

At journey's center, across the seas,

To pass the door where no man draws breath.

Alcione wants more than anything to join her father and brother as one of the Talaria, the riders who defend the King on their flying mounts, the arion. She dreams of soaring up into the sky to protect her land. But as a girl, she will never have a chance to become a hero. After her family is killed in a revolution, Alcie is determined to bring them back.

She sets out with Romi, her brother's arion, towards the capital, where it is said rests a legendary crown with the power to enter the land of the dead. But if she can't conceal her identity as a former noble, her quest could end before it even begins. Alcie must hide everything she is to survive in this new, dangerous world. But only as her true self can she ever hope to find the crown of five stones and bring her family home.