Book excerpt: After being forced to retreat from Yuthor Hall, Doream and his allies spend two years training and preparing for battle in the isolation provided by the Isle of Meris. The Human and Junitsu empires have grown into beastly war machines, and leading them is the dark knight Foresythe, threatening to rain chaos and plagues across Laria if he doesn't find the sacred scrolls. The Merisians and faulty, haphazard rebel groups stand in his way, but none have the power to defeat him, especially since the sorceress Sephoa stands at his side. Hope is nothing but a dim ember, as friends and comrades perish in Foresythe's tyrannical surge for power. To challenge the masked monster, Doream must decide whether or not to take on the mantle of the Doream legend, but the Human seeks more than just the defeat of Foresythe and Sephoa; he seeks the truth behind Laria's long-held mysteries. He discovers the truth, but it is a truth neither he nor the people of Laria can readily believe.