As the Warlock Tymall steps up his murderous campaign against his kin, the Vallas, Torrullin vanishes into a realm created by dreams and need. Paramount is his search for the means to end his son's reign of terror, and the answer no longer lies in reality. He will suffer the labyrinth of his soul and negotiate the marker stones of his past. Before he is able to discover a way to send the Warlock into the netherworld without compromising his conscience and honour, Torrullin must release his demons. To stand at the edge of the abyss, he must retrieve his innocence. Torrullin will endure The Hounding. He will not stand alone. Guiding him into and through another realm is Lowen Dalrish, the child-woman Torrullin saw as the nemesis of his future. Upon his return, another arises, the Warlock's secret ally, a creature nursing vengeance since ancient days. After Margus, the Darak Or, breaks oath, this creature's terrible manipulation is unleashed ... and a new army invades. The animated spirit according to legend is the potion of forever, and his name is Elixir, embodied in one strong enough to see, hear, taste, smell and touch everything everywhere in order to mete out justice. If Torrullin stands at the edge of the abyss an innocent man, does it mean he is strong enough to accept this duty? His world, his people and his loved ones require his strength, as he needs it to face the might of what lies beneath ancient Grinwallin, city of stone and time. After all that went before, Torrullin will face the power of stones raised when time began, before he may bow from the arena. Torrullin prepares, after all, to meet the dark man of his visions. The time for meeting is now close.