The assassination of heroes was once a warning . . . for an invasion that nearly destroyed the world. Nations were slaughtered, cities were erased from existence, and defending armies were crushed into oblivion. In weeks all life stood on the verge of extinction. But the end did not come. Instead the black horde vanished, leaving terrified survivors . . . and rumors. As the centuries passed the holocaust faded into legend, and finally myth. Across the southern sea a gifted young man is completing his training. To him the war is forgotten. To the world a warning goes unheeded. And the killings have already begun.