puppet ruler in service to the evil god Iom. The Guardiana army also learns that Nick is, in fact, the son of the late king. In a final assault on Cypress's castle, Edmond is killed. Nick battles Woldol using the Sword of Hajya, which can only be wielded by those of the royal bloodline of Cypress and is the only weapon which can break Iom's power. Though victorious, Nick is infected with a venom that turns his right arm to stone. With Queen Anri cured by Prince Nick's actions, Guardiana becomes Cypress's ally. Book 2 Cypress and Guardiana are now at war with Iom, a nation devoted to the evil god of the same name. The player now assumes the role of Deanna, a young man found wounded by the cliffs near Cypress's castle by two young Cypress soldiers, Natasha and Dawn. Nick and his troops depart to battle Iom, leaving Mayfair (a former member of the Cypress resistance) and several soldiers in charge of the castle. Once recuperated, Deanna joins them on guard duty, and though shy by nature, he begins to bond with Natasha. An Iom agent steals the Sword of Hajya from the castle. A small team of young soldiers left to guard the castle, led by Natasha and guided by Mayfair, set out to hunt down the thief and reclaim the Sword of Hayja. Their pursuit takes them to the neighboring kingdom of Emild, whose ruler has been sacrificed to Iom and replaced with the shapeshifting general Gordon. They recover the Sword of Hajya from Gordon, but immediately after a mysterious benefactor informs them that Prince Nick was defeated and taken prisoner. Natasha's force now heads to Iom to rescue Prince Nick. Their mysterious benefactor repeatedly comes to their aid but refuses to identify himself. They learn that Warderer, the king of Iom, is sacrificing members of royalty to Iom in order to summon the god to their world and that he intends to make Nick the next sacrifice. When the Cypress force confronts Warderer, General Hindel of Iom rescues Nick. Nick explains that Hindel betrayed Iom in order to save Deanna, Hindel's brother and that the Cypress force's mysterious benefactor was sent by Hindel. Deanna had in fact been wounded by a Cypress soldier while serving in an invading force from Iom. Following this revelation, an enraged Warderer kills Hindel and sacrifices himself to Iom,