Mage Wars (McDermott)

A dark secret lurking beneath the surface of Etheria erupts near the Straywood Forest, engulfing the lives of two wood elves and threatening the tenuous peace between the elves and the dwarves of the Anvil Throne. While on patrol, an elven Beastmaster named Lithann rushes to the aid of a fellow elf being attacked by strange beasts she's never seen before…but she is too late. When the creatures disappear underground with her friend, Lithann descends into the darkness with her loyal fox, Wiley, to save him. There she meets an outcast dwarf named Digur, who may hold the key to her survival, and a mysterious Sortilege elf named Inesta, who has secrets of his own.