Together with John Norman you will visit the End of the World Islands, a until recently unknown archipelago lying far to the west of the continental Gore. These mysterious islands, separated from the developed lands by the wide, stormy Thassa, were first reached during the historic voyage of a huge ship built by Thersites. And now this place, remote from the inhabited regions, has been chosen by two warring, technologically advanced civilizations, the monstrous, predatory imperialists of the Curs, and the mysterious Priests Reigning, the “gods of Horus,” who are prone to solitude. On this all-too-real chessboard is being played out a game that could determine the status and fate of Horus, and perhaps the Earth. Few understand the important background of the war, seeing it as nothing more than a small-town squabble over territory and power. Those who are able to grasp the scope of the game understand that the stake in it is nothing less than the world itself.