The world has seen better days. In Orenda, a world full of dangers and beauty, there was war. You could say it was a holy war, but that was not quite right. The war was against beings that had once been considered holy, yes, but they had fallen long ago. They used to be called Seraphs or Vespers, but now they were known by their true identity, the Supplanters, the tricksters. Orenda used to be different, it used to be a much different world, but the Mist changed that. The Mist, regarded by most as the breath and will and embodiment of God, came down, and transformed the world when it was young, changing it from a safe place where men killed one another over the land, to one where they must work together or be killed by the land. The Mist bestowed new gifts to the people, a test of their newly formed lives and world. Some gained power over elements, some took the shapes of animals, some gained no power at all.

Aaron and his best friend Tace have seen better days. What started out as a normal day at The Military Academy for Elementals turned into an assigned secret mission from the elders to go on a world saving mission. Their task: Find the Fire Spirit. The problem: They have no idea where to start. The other problem? Their lifelong enemies, the Supplanters, know that they are looking for the Spirit. And they will stop at nothing to keep that from happening. When the Supplanters attack The Academy in an attempt to stop the mission, the boys must hurry through a portal, chasing a supplanter assassin plotting to kill the Spirit. When they arrive on the other side they discover an unfamiliar land, with strange lights and horseless carriages, with no powers or gifts of their own, and worst, no knowledge of The Mist.