Emperor Alexius has sent his Questing Knights forth to bring back reports from all quarters of the Known Worlds on the state of his empire. The first volume surveys the Hawkwood Fiefs - home to Alexius before his ascension and center of intrigue for one of the Known World's major powers. The Hawkwood way of life is revealed at such places as the Deepcore Cities on Ravenna, Ice Wyrm-ridden Frisia on Delphi, the massive mountains of Gwynneth, and the backwoods of barbaric Leminkainen.