"It is many generations now since the Battle Owls, the Warhorses and the Border Runners answered the war trumpets of the kings of Elundium. The corruption of the Chancellors surrounding the throne has allowed Krulshards, Master of Darkness, to gather his forces in the caverns of the mountains beyond the land's edge. All Elundium is poised for destruction.
"Once Nevian, enchanter-guardian of the realm, would have been war counselor to the aging king, but he has long vanished into shadow. Now, in the false daylight of Candlebane Hall, King Holbian sends the only messenger he has--a boy whose once-proud ancestry has become a laughingstock--in a bid to alert the border garrisons at distant Underfall. Untrained in the arts of war, Thane's chances of survival seem slim indeed..."