From the introduction: No matter how sophisticated the civilized races of Midgard become nor how peaceful the times seem, the threat of war is never far off. Just in recent history, the vampires of Morgau and Doresh annexed the former Electoral Kingdom of Krakova whose ruling family in exile now wages an internecine war against their conquerors. In the Seven Cities, where war is a way of life with a specific season for waging it, the Mharoti Empire ceased to be merely a far‑off threat when it seized the nearby Grand Duchy of Illyria. In the Wasted West, the scattered tribes of dust goblins are uniting under a single charismatic leader to bring death to the Seat of Mavros.