The war to oust the usurper Lorkas from Kurault’s throne has begun.  King Macawin and the Army of the Alliance are confident in their ability to overwhelm the city’s defenses with one mighty strike.  But the Alliance meets formidable resistance from Lorkas’s troops, forcing them to settle around Kurault’s walls for a lengthy siege.  To gain support for King Macawin’s cause, the Blackwoods Coven is divided into three groups, each one assigned a Royal Quest by a city’s ruler in exchange for military aid.  The first must venture beyond the Rune Mountains to find Justin of Kurault, a man who most believe dead.  The second must hunt down and destroy the powerful demon sorceress, Darklin Reed.  The third must rescue the King Solson’s twin children from an indestructible war machine with a will of its own. But as the war drags on, Lorkas unleashes a force that the Alliance is powerless against.  Their only chance for victory is the completion of the Royal Quests before their morale is shattered and all hope is gone.