The end of spring in the Principality of Tver was marked by war with the elves. Then the mercenary troops of the sipais rose up, and neighboring states got involved… And behind all this stands someone’s commanding hand and an already inhuman mind: the hand and mind of the lich Ashmai. The forces and daredevils like Alexander Volkov will deal with the elves and the sipais. And the invisible “hand of evil” is already at it too—an aging mage named Yuri, who has begun to receive prophetic dreams calling him on the road…