Maine

The Metcalf Farm and town of Simonton. While the farm and the circle on the hill across from it were in book one, this time Katy Cove, the family orchard and the swamp behind it all play a role in Berek's recovery. In addition, Simonton High and the county fair are important locations in book two.
The state hospital is where Berek meets Deanilu Archambault as well as getting his first glimmer of hope when Dr. Stilphen, a psychiatrist and Vietnam veteran listens to Berek's story and believes him.
Sclearville is a decrepit collection of houses on a logging road twenty miles from nowhere. Deanilu grew up there and has been killing herself on the installment plan until she meets Berek. It lies southwest of the Enchanted.
Bucklin is the last outpost of civilization before Berek, Greg and Deanilu head into the Enchanted to find Leland Metcalf's cabin. Della Ring's Emporium is there and Berek makes an interesting series of discoveries when they arrive at Della's during a spring thundershower.
The Enchanted lies west of the main road between Bucklin and the Canadian border. After riding for nearly a day, Berek and his friends find it necessary to abandon their bikes at the edge of a beaver pond that has covered the road. Mysterious things and creatures appear at intervals in the Enchanted, teaching Berek and his friends that friendship is stronger than fear and that what you see is not always what is really before your eyes.

BALLICORE

The Wey Temple is the first new location in the story. Located at the foot of a mammoth waterfall, the temple consists of a series of ornate buildings housing a religious sect whose main purpose is training adepts in focused and powerful types of magic. While Berek is frustrated at the seeming inability of the Way priests to train him in a specific form of magic, Greg and Deanilu are thrilled at the results of their training.
The Swamp Caves west of Thylon's Vale are where Greg and Berek must find the elusive Terralof Vinetrainer if they are to have any hope of reviving Deanilu after her breakdown during a raging blizzard that overtook them as they made their way from the Inland Sea to Searson's Crossing.
The Snow Lord's village high in the Crags of Dread is Berek's first conscious destination. He hopes his cleric friend Ozone can be found there and may know Elspeth's fate. No one has seen Berek's love since she vanished while returning to Tarn Estates from Vespersea. Is she alive?
The small uninhabited isle due west of Blessed Island is where Berek and his friends begin their search for Elspeth. Between dodging the Chieftain's minions and the strange creatures they find underground, there are few moments of rest until the story concludes.
The mysterious blue mountains known as the Humblers appear time after time in Berek's dreams. Each time he finds himself astride the back of a crystal steed who can talk, but chooses not to answer his questons. Each dream ends just as Berek makes a sweeping turn into a high valley and the mysterious edifice rising at its end comes into view. What can the significance of this recurring dream be? The answer comes from a surprising source who has a very strong connection to Berek.

NEW CHARACTERS:

Deanilu Archambault meets Berek on the locked ward at the state hospital. Here's the description of their meeting: '“Want a ride?” Delicate, but scarred arms appeared on each side of his wheelchair. Berek turned slowly and found himself staring into violet eyes holding back a sea of sadness and pain even greater than his own. He looked beyond them and discovered they belonged to a girl about his own age. She was slightly overweight with dirty blonde hair, crooked teeth and freckles. Berek started, looking closer. Her arms were cris-crossed with a network of scars deeper and far angrier than his. It hurt just to look at them.' Deanilu suffers from PTSD and Dissociative Identity Disorder as a result of sexual abuse by her father and uncle. After a teacher got her to report them, both men went to prison. The other members of her family turned on her because no one was left to steal or poach deer. Her self-esteem sucks and she has learned to cope by being a cutter; someone who self-mutilates as a way of staying in control of their environment. When her desire to die becomes greater than her will to live, she gets sent to the state hospital. An instant bond forms between Berek and Deanilu when he realizes she believes him and that she must be one of the two seemingly flawed companions needed to find his way back to Ballicore.
Greg Faircloth is gay. He's also an extremely talented artist and actor. He has learned to survive at Simonton High by becoming a human chamelion, a skill that drives Berek nuts when he tries to figure out who Greg is and how to find him. They finally meet when Lyman, Buddy and Elliot, stars of the Simonton High football team are beating the crap out of Greg. Berek intervenes with some unexpected results that get both of them expelled and change the culture of Simonton High forever. Berek discovers that Greg is not only the other person he needs to help him return to Ballicore, but is someone he can talk to and who shares his humorously warped view of life. Greg makes a startling discovery of his own when they reach Ballicore and finds someone who genuinely cares for him.
Kylin Metcalf was forced to grow up in a hurry when her brother disappears. Once Berek comes home from the hospital, he discovers his little sister has become something else; his friend. While she sometimes irks Berek with her ability to read him better than he might like, their sibling bond strengthens as he realizes she has some innate magical powers that help them save the family farm from foreclosure by the dour FHA man, Percival Hewett.
Julia Tilman has done some growing herself since Berek disappeared. The shallow blonde cheerleader who dismissed him so curtly at the beginning of book one is now a beautiful and compassionate young woman; something Berek discovers when they end up raking blueberries together just before school resumes. He tries to resist falling in love with her. Even though Elspeth owns his heart, it's hard to stay loyal and he isn't even certain he can get back to Ballicore. Anyhow, Julia is right here, right now. Their relationship has to withstand not only his anguish, but threats from Buddy, Lyman and Ellot who still think Julia is a convenient piece of property that should obey their every whim. Something very powerful happens to Berek and Julia just before he begins his quest to return to the world that expelled him.
Freeman and Ellen Metcalf realized during Berek's absence how little they knew their son and how much they loved him. Now he has returned and must leave again, probably forever. This excerpt from book two sums it up perfectly: Freeman Metcalf sat back on the sofa and put his arm around his wife. “It near tears me apart, thinking about our only son going off to another world, probably for good. It seems like we really just got to know him this summer. Parents have been sending sons off to war for ages, hoping they’d come back. This is different. No letters from boot camp, no shore leave, no honorable discharge. Heck, who’s going to stop you in the grocery store and ask ‘How’s Berek doing on Ballicore? Got any pictures of him in uniform?’ It almost feels like a death without the body, Ellen.”
Wambu Jerusalem is the principal of Simonton High School, a position he has held for many years. Wambu has suffered the snide remarks and pitying looks of his fellow principals because Simonton sports teams have had the crap kicked out of them for decades. This year will be different because the football team is on a roll, led by Buddy, Lyman and Elliot. Wambu made a very rash bet with the principal of the only school standing in the way of a state championship. As a result, he is willing to let his football players get away with anything in order to win his bet, but will he let them get away with Greg Faircloth's murder? Berek won't and the results of his intervention send Wambu over the edge and the football stars someplace they never imagined they'd go.
Etane is the daughter of a miner and his wife who bring their gems to Searson's Crossing twice a year where they sell them to a traveling gem merchant from Vespersea. This time, the merchant cannot offer a decent price and the miner decides to return home with his goods. Unfortunately, two members of the Shadow Militia overhear the exchange between Etane's father and the merchant. When the miner leaves, thay follow, killing Etane's parents and chasing the young girl through league after league of dense forest. She finally eludes them, only to find herself famished and completely lost. When she stumbles upon Berek and his sleeping companions, she tries to steal food, but is caught. Deanilu's dormant mothering instinct awakens and she forms a bond with the little girl that helps both of them blossom. When the party reaches Searson's Crossing they have two new tasks; find a safe home for Etane and avenge her parents' deaths. Both get done, but not as the party might have planned.
The giant ants living far underground pose a seemingly impossible onstacle to Elspeth's rescue until Greg uses his knowledge of entomology and his newly acquired Mage skills to forge an alliance. This is the key to the party being able to cross the mysterious city that lies nearly five leagues under the ocean floor.

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