Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars — Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia Nemedia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west.

Welcome to the Hyborian Age! The Hour of the Dragon has passed. In the aftermath, a group of Nemedian deserters became entangled in sorcerous plots. Seven heroes now lie dead, while two have gone missing. Two sorcerers, a mad alchemist, a Stygian assassin and a swordsman returned from the gates of Hell sail on. They struggle against a cult of corruption and decay. Strange alliances and pacts have been made in the shadows. Is all knowledge worth having? Will the support of ancient powers later require a terrible payment? Perhaps the true enemy always lies within…

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Conquerors

Lord Dionysos Thaurian
Tyrus the First
The Basil
Zaphmed
Thothmekri

Minions & Lackeys

Luba, Dionysos’ wife
Sallust, Tyrus’s right hand
Faithful Retainers

Sworn Enemies

Zevras, the Philosopher of Decay
The Golden Masks
Nefertari, the Mercenary Vampiress
Lesser Foes

Friends & Patrons

The Master
Demetrio, the High Inquisitor of Nemedia
Selcides, the Blind Priest of Mitra (Dead?)
Tawil At’Umr, the Eyeless Sage
Families
Other Acquaintances

Treading Strange Paths

Lord Barathus the Insane
Ditrius Bartol the Redeemed Cutthroat

Fallen Heroes

Dahab the Hyena Bait
Noam the Scorpion King
Sigur Greyen the Hard-Boiled Mercenary
Sir Alcemides
Mephon, the One Who Loved Barathus
Feng Bai the Dreamer
Flavius Festus