When even the gods are dying, the hope of the world may lie in its most
feared enemies. A new god proclaimed as the All-Holy has arisen in the
west and leads an army eastward, devouring the gods and goddesses of the
lands between, forcibly converting their folk and binding their souls to
himself. The very fabric of the world appears threatened by forces
beyond the understanding of scholars and wizards alike. Even the great
city of Marakand, where the roads of east and west converge, seems
powerless to resist the All-Holy, though the devils Moth and Yeh-Lin and
the assassin Ahjvar, undead consort of the god of distant Nabban, have
come to stand with it. That may avail Marakand little, for the
shapeshifting Blackdog, once a champion of the gods, follows obediently
at the All-Holy's heel and Lakkariss, the sword of the cold hells, is in
his master's hand.