DAWN OF EMPIRE

Three thousand years before the birth of Christ. An epic conflict is aboutto begin. The price of victory? Civilization. The price of defeat, areturn to the dark ages. The hopes of civilization rest on one man'sshoulders: Eskkar, once a barbarian, now a warrior in charge of defendinga small town which lies in the path of a vast barbarian war party. Thelast time the invaders came to Orak, they spared no one and the tinycandle of trade and agriculture that had begun there, the first in all ofhuman history, was extinguished. But Eskkar and Trella, the beautifulslave girl he has been given by the grateful townsfolk, and theraggle-taggle army he has inherited are not going to flee. They will fightagainst the overwhelming odds with foolhardy bravery, subtle ingenuity andthe last drop of their blood. On this tiny band the lathe of history willturn: victory or darkness?