War cannot describe the ravages of the Umman Manda. When these monsters descend from the mountains, the people of Estrickt have their own word for what Forsvar. The scars left by the eighth Forsvar run deep. Time passes, seasons turn, walls find their strength anew. Still, terror holds fresh in the mind of every Estrian. In a society molded to fight these vicious beasts, true recovery is a distant dream. A new empress is crowned, a new hope rises. But already, signs tell of horrors swelling in the land beyond the mountains. The ninth Forsvar is on its way.