Fire stretches across the horizon, and the mark burns.After everything they have survived the greatest test is still to come: the Zynaldini Desert.When a foreboding omen starts the clock on a lethal sandstorm, Arrio has to get his friends to Mikdyal before time runs out. Failure isn't an option, but Arrio knows that when he gets home he has more than just his past to face. The Great Beast Zyki has marked him. Again.Now the futures of Arrio and Mikdyal are once again intertwined. As threats abound from all sides, Zyki has a choice for Arrio to make, and the future of the entire world could hang on his decision...Spirit & Sand is the fifth book in The War of the North Saga and continues the epic quest begun in Steel & Stone.