"Ardin Vitalis' last waking memory is of killing the Mage who betrayed him. The woman he loved was murdered just beyond his ability to save her, the Shadow King who killed her escaping into the storm around them. He awakes to find himself incarcerated in a rundown mental institution, asked to escape by a mysterious winged warrior, and charged with the rescue of a people an ocean away. Little does he know that his own people are being corrupted, compromised, and turned against each other by the returning influence of their former enemy, the Relequim. If Ardin can't overcome the demons in his dark past, he may succumb to them, and become the ool of his own worst enemies." -- Back cover