In an ancient land, a young woman begins battle training at an all male fighting academy, hoping to be among those chosen to defeat a dark wizard.

SYNOPSIS:

Wren Creighton is a 17 year old tenant farmer living with her parents who longs to be a soldier to help fight the dark wizard Grensbaine, whose destructive war has plagued the countryside and threatens the Creightons’ crops, as well as their lives. Even though they have never accepted a female applicant for battle training, Wren sends a letter of query to Castle Thoromin, home to the most well-known fighting program in the land. Two weeks later, Endrew Nox, a member of the Castle Protectorate, arrives at the Creightons’ home to deliver Wren’s acceptance letter. Wren’s father, Cyrus, approves of her going off to fight, but her mother, Elsa, believes she is abandoning them during a crucial point in the harvest and disowns her.

Wren arrives at Castle Thoromin to begin her training. Among the other new recruits are Russell Milltoad, shy and sensitive, and Dom Tackle, entitled and chauvinistic. After a few weeks of training, Wren notices she is not taken seriously as a warrior compared to her male counterparts and enlists in the bi-annual Stalwart Competition, which will determine who among the new recruits will graduate as a lieutenant and lead forces into battle. Wren faces four other competitors, including Dom, with each round eliminating one contestant. In the final round, Wren and Dom must duel each other, Wren besting her opponent after considerable effort. However, the Council of Eyes, who own the land the Castle is built on, declare Dom the winner of the competition since there is no precedent for women to be named Stalwart.

Wren, devastated after her loss, receives word that Grensbaine’s forces are preparing to march on her village. She abandons her training and rides off with the attacking forces. Russell persuades Dom to go after her and the three of them meet their enemies head-on. In the ensuing chaos, Russell is killed. Wren corners Grensbaine in a forest clearing and, after an intense stand-off, decapitates him. In the aftermath of the battle, Orrid tells Wren that even though she and Dom abandoned their training, they are welcome back to the Castle if they’d like to continue. Elsa and Cyrus tell Wren how proud they are of her and admit they were wrong to hold her back from being her true self. Wren rides off to continue her training with her parents’ blessing.