The Iron Princess

For 75 years, the wizard Ithrazel has been chained across the top of a crag, where birds of prey daily rip and devour his flesh. While the wounds are magically healed overnight, Ithrazel must endure the same process as long as he is bound there. When a shepherd encounters Ithrazel, he leads Clea, the Iron Princess of the wealthy merchant house of Stylachos, to him. Clea needs his help for her world, where the Crystal Mages have taken power over the rest of the mages and enslaved entire villages to mine and refine the mineral adamis into the much-coveted adamine, which is stronger than normal steel and has magical properties. The magic of the other mages provides no protection against that of the Crystal Mages or leads to unanticipated and sometimes deadly results, and as the conflict increases, horrible monsters emerge.