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It is the year of Our Lord 1205, or 845 by the Julian reckoning. Two great kingdoms of Eastern Nova Europe are poised on the brink of war: Pommerelia and Kórynthia. Their differences are both religious and cultural, and not easily bridged. One state faces west and south towards the immense hereditary Latinate monarchy of the Holy Roman Cæsar, while the other reflects the growing influence of the Greek-oriented Byzantine Julian Emperor to the east. And behind the scenes, someone -- or something -- is manipulating events to bring about the seemingly inevitable calamity that will result when the hounds of fate are finally unleashed. Who is 'The Dark-Haired Man?' Is he just a fable that parents tell their little children to keep them in line? Or is he viciously real, a threat not only to King Kipriyán III and his royal line, but to all peace-loving people everywhere? What does he really want? What can he actually do with his powers? And, ultimately, of course, ultimately, how can he ever possibly be stopped by God-fearing men and women? This is a saga of high adventure, great deeds, and greater loves, played out across the razor edge of the Carpates Spinae. At the very heart of the tale is Father Afanásy, a seemingly innocuous hieromonk whose quest to find himself rocks the very foundations of the universe known as Nova Europa. His journey -- and ours -- will both move and enrich fantasy readers everywhere.