The calm times for Thorne are, apparently, over. Rot drifts in from the Goat Mountains. A whole city is erased from the face of the earth, sacrificed to free a mighty servant of the Abyss. The Serpentine Archipelago groans beneath the heel of a злobiак (evil) lice—once the head of the main security service of Tlantos. The stronghold of world order, the Republic of Nold, no longer seems capable of preserving the status quo. Dark elves, after centuries, have crossed beyond their own lands, and the treachery and scale of intrigue of their “light” counterparts finally take visible shape.
How will the otherworldly man Yaroslav act now—now a powerful mage and king of K’irsan Kaifat? What is he ready to do to protect the kingdom? What new meetings and clashes has fate prepared for him—what kind of villainous schemer? Will he hold out? Will he keep his friends and followers alive? And what will other figures do on this enormous chessboard? The book will tell.