At the age of fifteen, Melkis, the eldest son of Count Rodeberg, is given the gift of "root magic," a talent that allows him to completely copy any magic he has seen even once. His father is furious that he did not receive the gift related to swords, and banishes him as the lord of a remote fiefdom... Upon learning of this, Mariel, the fourth princess and Melkis' fiancee, comes to the frontier fiefdom. As she and Marielle work together to solve the villagers' problems, the fiefdom quickly begins to develop.