The petty kingdoms of Karlund have been united beneath the banner of a single king for the first time since the earliest days of the country. The Golden Bear of Eadric flies from Sulheim in the south to Eirsmet in the north. Many changes are brought upon the land. The old ways are crushed beneath the might of Eadric's armies. Old familys are cast down. The last whispers and shadows of a time of legends and myths are driven off.

Sigrid, the neice of one of Eadric's defeated foes, flees to far off shores. She leaves seeking the excitement and adventure from the tales of her youth. She returns on a foreign merchant's vessel, without any of her original companions, but accompanied by a young girl. Her daughter, Nal, a woman fated to shake the northern kingdom to it's core.