The Shadow of What Was Lost (2014) is Australian author James Islington’s debut novel and the first installment of The Licanius Trilogy. Twenty years after the Unseen War deposed the prescient Augurs from power, 16-year-old Davian and his classmates, Wirr and Asha, inherit a post-war world where they, the “Gifted,” can wield their own life force to alter the world around them; however, they are a despised class. Having once served the now-extinct Augurs, the Gifted and their magic are considered untrustworthy and dangerous. Strictly bound by the Four Tenets that limit their freedom and powers, the three youths must combat the return of an ancient enemy by challenging old animosities and building new alliances. The novel explores The Role of Memory in Shaping Identity, The Ethics of Constraining Power, and The Tension Between Predestination and Free Will.

This guide is based on the Orbit July 2016 Kindle edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of bullying, rape, suicidal ideation, graphic violence, and death.

Plot Summary

Twenty years ago, during the Unseen War, the Loyalists of the Tel’Andras royal line vanquished the formidable Augurs, the prescient and telepathic class that had ruled Andarra for almost 2,000 years. The Augurs had the ability to use a magical power called “kan” to read and control minds, alter time, and utilize their prescience to see into the immutable future. All Augurs were executed, and King Andras seized power. His brother, Duke Elocien, created the Four Tenets, a set of strict oaths that bound the Augurs’ surviving accomplices, the less powerful Gifted, to the new Administration’s authority. Under this system, the Gifted, who are not as powerful as Augurs but can wield the lesser magic energy of their own Essence (life force) to change the world around them, are now forbidden to use their powers against the non-Gifted. They must also show complete obedience to the Administration.

In the present, 16-year-old Davian and his friends, Wirr and Asha, are students at the Gifted school in Caladel. All Gifted bear a Mark on their wrist that appears when they first use Essence, binding them to the Tenets. Those who fail their Trials or violate the Tenets are turned into Shadows, meaning that their magic is stripped. Davian’s friends are all committed to keeping his secret: that he has the powers of an Augur (specifically, an ability to tell when someone is lying); this ability is a violation that is punishable by death.

One evening, Elder Ilseth Tenvar, a visiting Gifted from the capital city of Ilin Illan, warns Davian that the magical Boundary in the north is failing and releasing monsters that were last seen 2,000 years ago, when a conqueror named Aarkein Devaed was terrorizing the lands. Ilseth gives Davian a bronze box: a Vessel that contains stored Essence and has an unspecified magical property, and instructs him to head north to help fix the Boundary. Revealing that he knows Davian’s secret, Ilseth asserts that the Boundary was built by Augurs, and only Augurs know how to repair it. Wirr joins Davian in his quest, and the two depart in the middle of the night.

The next morning, Asha awakes to discover that everyone in the school has been massacred. She finds no signs of Davian or Wirr and realizes that they have escaped. Ilseth, who planned the attack, cannot risk Asha knowing that the boys are alive, so he turns her into a Shadow, erasing her memory of the morning. He takes her to Tol Athian, a Gifted stronghold in the capital, and lies to the Council, claiming that a grief-stricken Asha requested the transformation so that she could forget the massacre. Asha doesn’t trust Ilseth, but she has no memories to confirm what really happened. She remains at the Tol and is recruited first by the Shadraehin, a leader of an underground Sanctuary for the Shadows. Later, she is recruited by Duke Elocien, the creator of the Tenets who subsequently became an ally of the Gifted when he learned that his son was one. Warning Asha that the Shadraehin is dangerous, Elocien convinces her to trust him when he introduces her to three young Augurs who are secretly under his protection. Asha is transferred to the palace and works with the Augurs, learning of a prophecy that Ilin Illan will be invaded.

Meanwhile, Davian and Wirr discover that the bronze box is a Wayfinder that leads them to a mysterious prisoner named Caeden, whom they release. Caeden has lost his memories and is accused of massacring an entire village in Desriel, a country where all Gifted are executed. Lacking any memory of either his innocence or his guilt, Caeden fears that he is a murderer. With the help of Taeris Sarr, an Elder Gifted who once saved Davian’s life, the group decides to travel to Tol Athian to restore Caeden’s memories. They believe his connection to the box is related to the Boundary and to the return of the ancient villain, Aarken Devaed.

Wirr reveals to Davian that he is secretly Prince Torin, the son of Duke Elocien. An ally named Nihim soon joins the group, along with the siblings Aelric and Dezia Shainwiere. Hooded creatures called sha’teth pursue them, and they cross into Deilannis, a haunted ancient city, where Davian and Nihim are separated from the group.

A sha’teth kills Nihim, and Davian is suddenly dragged into a void and ends up in the same city, 90 years in the past. A mysterious Augur named Malshash trains Davian to master his Augur abilities. Malshash believes there is only one predestined timeline that self-corrects whenever someone tries to change the past. Davian returns to his own present and heads to Ilin Illan to rejoin his companions.

Back in the capital, Asha discovers that her magic has only been suppressed. Shadows can use various Vessels to wield Essence. In her room, a time-traveling, older version of Davian visits her from the future with an obscure message. The encounter prompts her to suspect Ilseth of lying, so she asks one of the Augurs to restore her memories. Asha tricks Ilseth into confessing his role in the school massacre and her transformation, and the Athian Council imprisons him.

Meanwhile, Wirr and his companions return to the palace, believing Davian to be dead. Along their route, they witness the aftermath of bloody attacks by a mysterious, black-armored army from the north. Wirr reunites with his family and is shocked to discover that Asha is alive and a Shadow. With no proof of Caeden’s innocence, the Athian Council refuses to restore his memories, and Caeden is temporarily imprisoned across from Ilseth’s cell. Fearing his friends’ rejection, Caeden tells no one that Ilseth spoke to him in the sha’teth’s language, calling him “master.”

Taeris and Caeden are relocated to rooms under Princess Karaliene’s watch and make plans to use teleporting stones to break into the storehouse and find a Vessel that can restore Caeden’s memories and help them fight against the impending attacks.

As the black-armored invaders from the Boundary descend on the city, the King refuses to change the Tenets to allow the Gifted to use their powers against their common enemy. Wirr is limited to using Essence to heal the wounded. Asha rounds up an army of Shadows to help fight. Davian reads Ilseth’s mind and relives the Elder’s memory of serving Aarkein Devaed, including his vow to give Davian a box that will ensure his master’s return. Davian rushes to find Caeden, Caeden has already found the bronze box, activated its teleporting abilities, and disappeared through a fiery portal.

Caeden finds himself in a cavern of lava, where Garadis, a creature made of fire, guards the sword Licanius. Garadis tells him that after 500 years of unsuccessful attempts, Caeden has finally passed the tests by coming with the sole purpose of helping his friends and finding out who he is. Garadis gives Caeden the sword but tells him that he can use it for only one year and a day if he fails to discover a way to free Garadis’s people, the Lyth.

Back in Ilin Illan, Duke Elocien is killed, and Wirr inherits his role as the new Northwarden, head of the Administration. His first act is to amend the Tenets to allow the Gifted to use Essence in self-defense; he also abolishes their enforced obedience. Just as the invaders breach the shields, Caeden returns to Ilin Illan, armed with the sword Licanius, and single-handedly disintegrates them. He then leaves abruptly to set out on his next mission, warning his friends to prepare for the dreaded return of Aarkein Devaed.

As Ilin Illan recovers, Davian joins the Gifted at another stronghold, Tol Shen, leaving with a fellow Augur named Ishelle, who hopes to find more like them and rebuild the Boundary. Asha and Wirr remain in the palace to ensure a smooth transition to the new Tenets. The three friends vow to reunite once the Boundary is secured.

In the epilogue, Caeden teleports to the Wells of Mor Aruil, where he learns that he intentionally erased his own memories in order to leave behind his identity as Aarkein Devaed.