Terror stalks the land of Ithlal. A great cosmic cycle is coming to an end, and the fate of all life is unknown as the fabric of reality comes undone and draws inward, to be recreated again. In this time of approaching chaos, someone has unleashed a terrible force that is destroying the land itself, and which can prevent the rebirth. And in the vast forests of Cernwood, the Vordlai, hideous winged creatures, have awakened from a centuries-old sleep, craving mortal blood and flesh. But the Land Spirit, the embodiment and Soul of all that is, will not willingly fade into oblivion. Its avatar has assembled a group of unlikely and unwilling heroes: an immortal who is half-human, a monk sworn to his vows, a reclusive forest dweller, a short tempered dwarf, and a young musical mage who unwittingly possesses a gemstone of unimaginable power. Together, they may be able to stop the growing darkness, but time is slipping away.