Redwin agonizes, Dal'darum vacillates. As Kowan's flyers tear the sky and betrayal roams under a thousand faces, a handful of heroes must hold the fortress... or see it sink. Between lightnings, steel and broken oaths, every decision can save a people, or precipitate war. Dal'darum heals his wounds when a "surgical" attack strikes his vital points. Deprived of their leader, elves, dwarfs, orcs and gobelins must choose a new pillar to resist the approaching army. At the same time, other actors enter the scene: fragile alliances, ancient secrets and a sealed passage to forgotten powers...