Zair was thirteen when he was kidnapped and trained to be a Shadow -- to stand in for Crown Prince Anwir in dangerous situations. Magicians broke the rules of magic when they wove illusion spells around him, so he would walk and talk and sound and look like Anwir, The two boys were meant to be friends, companions, perhaps the only true friend either one would ever have.
Magic in the kingdom of Dorwain was broken, the old ways purged, forgotten, or warped. The magicians made mistakes. Some fatal. However, when they used the dust of a shattered magic mirror as the base of their spells, that proved to be Zair's only hope for survival and escape.
Despite the destruction of her physical body, Viza the magic mirror was alive in her dust. Zair could hear her, proving the strength of his sleeping, inborn magic. She became his friend and teacher. Together, they sought a way to escape. The magic awakening in Zair proved he had royal blood, with a claim to the throne. That made him a threat to the current king. He needed to break the growing web of spells that imprisoned him, and reclaim his own face before time ran out.
