In the 11th century AD, the ailing Byzantine Empire teeters on the brink of full-blown war with the Seljuk Sultanate. In the borderlands of Eastern Anatolia, a land riven with bloodshed and doubt, a dark hero rises from the ashes of the conflict. Apion's journey will be a savage one, taking him from the snakepit of Constantinople to the blistering heart of the Seljuk realm . . . all the time leading him towards the fabled plains of Manzikert.

A clash of empires that will echo for eternity…AD 1071. Emperor Romanus Diogenes has rekindled the guttering flame of Byzantium, and a reinvigorated empire rises to meet the Seljuk threat. In the eastern borderlands, two vital strongholds hang in the balance: Manzikert and Chliat. The Byzantines and Seljuks race to secure the twin fortress-towns.Apion rides by the emperor's side as they march east, marshalling Byzantium's armies for the conflict that is to come. He knows on...

377 AD: When Optio Numerius Vitellius Pavo and a select group of the XI Claudia are summoned to the Persian front, they leave Thracia behind, knowing little of what awaits them. They know only that they are to march into a burning land of strange gods. They whisper tales of the mighty Persian Savaran cavalry and pray to Mithras they will see their homes and families again. All too soon it becomes clear to them that this is no ordinary mission - indeed, the very fate of the empire might res...