Cherryh, C.J

The starship Phoenix returns to the planet it abandoned two centuries earlier in the hopes of convincing the planet's aliens to trade technology for the manpower needed to rebuild their space station.

Marak, a mad prince whose life is devoted to overthrowing the Ila, his world's eternal dictator, is betrayed by his father and sent on a march with other madmen to the Ila's city of Oburan--and, upon arrival, the Ila assigns him to discover the source of the visions and voices that haunt his world's madmen.

The wizard Mauryl, kingmaker for a thousand years of Men, casts a Shaping spell in the form of a young man, Tristen, who is fated to sow distrust between a prince and his father. Mauryl wishes to right the wrongs of a long forgotten wizard war, and to call new wars into being.