The Staff of Life has been lost for a thousand years. Imbued with the powers to dominate all life, the Staff can save or ruin the Free Lands. Many have sought out the Staff. All failed. Aron Kryte has served the Hierarchy for years, rising through the ranks of the venerable Golden Warriors. He patrols the Free Lands, maintaining the long peace, little does he know that the world he knows is built upon lies. His quiet summer days are shattered when he is led into an ambush by the man whose brother he once killed. Imelin is the last of his order. A powerful wizard and member of the High Council, he has ever harbored the secret desire for power. He defects and heads to the forsaken land of Suroc Tol, where an army of darklings await his command. At last he can embark upon his quest to discover the Staff of Life and begin a war of attrition. Events are set in motion that will change the Free Lands forever. War brews. Armies gather. Only a handful of men and women stand against the coming storm.