Book excerpt: Armies are gathering but Astalus, the Thracian court wizard, is in a quandary. Shocking news has arrived from an unlikely source. A spy, arrested brazenly entering the city, claims to be a prince from a royal household that was overthrown, the family members murdered over sixty years ago. Intriguingly, the spy's claim to be from Allund is more than a coincidence, for the army marching against them is also from Allund. Who indeed to trust? The stranger brings with him news of an army from Trosgarth, which can only mean one thing. Drachar's shade has been summoned and the Prophecy is coming to pass. Old alliances are broken and many monarchs slain. No sign yet exists of the king predicted by the Prophecy, who will save them all. Astalus, normally so certain and confident, is suddenly plummeted into his worst nightmare, for soon Thrace could be threatened by demons and, against them, there is no salvation. In a land fraught with betrayal, fear and death, the shadows are deepening.