For ten thousand years and ten thousand times that, the Morschen of Anaria have dwelt in a perpetual state of warring peace with each other, wielding their elemental magic and training massive armies that all too often find their way to a battlefield. Ten nations, who stand or fall by the sword, each with its own ancient and proud beginning, come together every year for a time of common council. For years beyond count, they have fought wars and made peace among each other, only to repeat the process a decade or a century later. But an enemy, long thought defeated in the great war that was fought at the dawn of time, has awakened once more, and his eye is fixed on the world he failed to take.Will the one real leader that the Morschen have be able to see the meaning of a nightmare in time? Will his fellows be able to push past their disputes to name a ruler who can truly unite them? Will loyalties that have held for a thousand years stay strong under a new threat? Will a world ruled by magic and sword see a hero rise? Or will everything that they have worked for come crashing down around them?