The son of the cursed Ard people, yesterday's foundling Ned, doomed to be a slave all his life, escaped this fate. Now he is a sergeant, a magician and a happy husband. True, problems arose with the last two circumstances. Ned lost his magical abilities by accidentally letting a demon into his body, and he had to part with his beloved wife Sanda for a while. And to top off all the troubles, Ned managed to get involved in a multi-step palace intrigue started by adherents of the secret brotherhood of Shirduan. However, this is not the first time he has had to choose between light and darkness...