From the introduction: Three millennia have passed since the island nation of Ankeshel sank beneath the waves of the Western Ocean. Legends speak of temples of solid orichalcum and the strange and powerful vril magic. When the small Palas family of shrimpers discovered the ruins of an ancient structure on Beacon Rock, north of Maillon, the City of Alchemy, rumors spoke of this being the fabled Lighthouse of the Sun, supposedly powered by an Undying Vril Battery. Despina Grave, head of the Grave Raiders, a ragtag band of discredited archeologists and mercenaries, convinced the family they would be paid handsomely if they guided the crew to the ruins. Unfortunately for the family, leading the crew there ended in betrayal with the father wounded, his wife on the run for help, and their son missing in the monster-infested ruins.