The great
three-sided war continues, Rome against Persia against the tribes
of the desert now commanded by Mohammed of Mekkah. The tide is
turning against the Eastern Empire - Emperor Heraclius lies
bedridden in Constantinople and his brother Theodore prepares to
meet the rebels of the Decapolis in a great battle. In the West,
Rome lies devastated by the long-pent eruption of Vesuvius. The
Persian general Shahr-Baraz has secured the Peacock Throne and
looks west, again, seeking to secure peace through victory.
But there is
hope for the West. Prince Maxian, horrified at being the cause of
so many deaths, has come to realize that the Oath need not be
broken; it can be changed by a skilled sorcerer. In Judea, young
Dwyrin is coming into his full powers, honed by sorcerous combat
with his friend Odenathus, who now leads the shattered remnants of
the army of Palmyra. And among the Goths north of the Danuvius, a
new legion is being forged by a very old general.
