Also published under the name “The Fire in the Forging”.

Outcast Trader Daja, along with her fellow mages-in-training, journeys from Winding Circle to the Gold Ridge Mountains, where drought threatens widespread famine. There, Daja creates an astonishing object, a living metal vine; and Daja's dealings with her former people, reawaken a longing for familiar ways. She must choose! 9+.

The Circle of Magic Quartet is set in the Circle universe.

Author Biography

Tamora Pierce was born in South Connellsville, Pennsylvania and her parents were originally going to call her Tamara, but the nurse who filled out her birth certificate had never heard of that name before and accidentally misspelled it. However, Tamora likes her name and in case you're wondering how to pronounce it, it sounds just like camera. She was a passionate reader from an early age, devouring encyclopaedias, Dr Seuss books and J.R.R. Tolkien. Writing helped Tamora get through her parents' divorce and in her junior year at college she sold her first story and went on to publish The Song of the Lioness, originally with adult readers in mind, but found success when she turned it into a quartet for teenagers. The rest, as they say, is history! Tamora lives in New York with her husband.