Rose Priestess Sylah's successful quest for ancient knowledge had
shattered the unity of the Church and branded her a witch. Her only
protection, and the only hope for a better future, lay with Gan
Moondark, ruler of the united Three Territories. But Gan's fledgling
empire was beset by enemies on all sides: Church wanted to reassert her
traditional control and suppress the knowledge revealed by Sylah's
quest. The heretic religion called Moondance was sweeping across the
land, unstoppable, and its goal was the utter destruction of Gan and
Sylah. And the deadly coastal raiders called the Skan were banding
together with both Church and Moondance against Gan and Sylah in the
hope of a rich plunder of slaves taken from Gan's lands.
As
the winter set in, Gan had but months to plan for the defense of his
people. And so once again he turned to the strangers - resurrectees from
the twentieth century - who had helped him found his empire, for it was
only with the technology of a long-dead civilization that Gan could
hope to overcome the forces arrayed against him. But the skills and
knowledge that the strangers possessed were feared even by Gan's
supporters - and if his people began to believe that the strangers
practiced dark magic, Gan's campaign for freedom would be doomed from
the start.