Afflicted by a centuries-old curse, a warlord slowly surrenders his humanity and descends toward madness. Ballard of Ketach Tor holds no hope of escaping his fate until his son returns home one day, accompanied by a woman of incomparable beauty. His family believes her arrival may herald Ballard's salvation....until they confront her elder sister.Determined to rescue her sibling from ruin, Louvaen Duenda pursues her to a decrepit castle and discovers...