The Magicians' Guild: Trudi Canavan

Book I of Black Magician. Each year the magicians of Imardin gather together to purge the city streets of vagrants and miscreants. Masters of the disciplines of magic, they know that no ordinary lowlife can oppose them. But their protective shield is not as impenetrable as they think. Sonea, angry, frustrated and outraged by the treatment of her family and friends, throws a stone at the shield, putting all her rage behind it. She is amazed when it sails straight through the barrier and knocks a magician unconscious. The Guild's worst fear has been realised - there's an untrained magician loose in the streets of Imardin who must be found before her uncontrolled powers can destroy herself and the city. Cover art by Les Petersen.