From the introduction: The world is a dark place, a place of wonder, mystery, brutality, and terror. This, of course, is the known world, for much of the world-sphere has either yet to be fully explored or is simply too far-off or too horrifying for sane folk to attempt. There are bits of light in the known world, however, but all too often, these are but mere flickering fire-brands in the vast gulf of the unknown – what cannot be seen or heard, naturally, cannot be trusted by mere mortals.