It's been over twenty years since the fateful day that the might of the Zoarinian Empire's great army was destroyed within the Valley Lands. Since then it has been a time of peace and prosperity throughout the Valley Lands under the guidance of Roric Ta'lont, but is another war coming to the Valley Lands? A dark war not able to be won by the sword alone? The past two years have been uneasy ones for Roric. Rumors of a dark cult and its increasing influence have been spreading throughout the Southern Settlements. Roric fears that it's only a matter of time before it invades the Valley Lands with its darkness of belief. Will the people resist its dark influence? How can they? The people have already drifted from the faith of their fathers and are ripe for a takeover of their souls in a war of the spirit. Something has to be done, but what? A war has begun in which a sword might not even be raised to win the hearts of the people. How does one fight an idea that has the backing of a dark leader that endows his followers with powers that terrify the soul? The enemy has a complete work of dark import, while Roric's people have but the tattered remnants of the word of God caused by a tragedy long ago in their past. How can Roric inspire faith in the people, when the people don't have the instruction they need to resist darkness's wiles and deceptions? A bold plan is called for and Roric finds the means to accomplish it buried in a secret place far below the mountain that Thunder Ridge castle was built upon. A place of secrets as old as the time of Roric's people on this world, watched over by a guardian that answers only to the house of Ta'lont.