Realm of Osten Ard made Tad Williams famous among fantasy writers and this series impressed many other authors to write in the same manner. In this part of the series, war has approached the land and no place is safe now. The devils are everywhere and they are taking over the land very quickly. The humans had some defense mechanism in the past but they have lost everything now. The warriors who used to protect the realm in the past are now gone.
So everyone thinks that things can go back to normal if they find the Stone of Farewell. The ancient place is said to house the power which is needed to fight against the minions and devils which have been creating havoc on the land. Prince Josua has been left with no other choice because he has tried everything and now he thinks the League of Scrolls should go beyond their potential and find the truth hidden behind the old legends.
Every step which the heroes take makes them more worried about their future. If any book can compete with The Dragonbone Chair and To Green Angel Tower then this is the one. Most of the book does not tell anything about the war rather it is a preparation of the war which Andrew Wincott narrates.
It is the enemies who have the upper hand on the land and the heroes are shown seeing for a way out because soon the things would be out of their reach forever. The legend when gets revealed, it brings horrible secrets along with it and several of the warriors think that it was better to keep everything buried.