Centuries ago, in the days before King Arthur, a wise king assembled a council of wizards to advise his court. For generations, their spells and their mystical allies -- the ravens, the ghosts of pagan knights, the spirits of wood and stream -- have watched over the land. Now, the line of kings is long since broken. The castle still stands, but its walls are crumbling, its banners hang faded and moth-eaten in a nearly empty hall. Of the dozen rune-carved chairs in the great hall, all but two stand empty. Yet the Wizards' Council of Stranggore still keeps its lonely vigil.

It is now the Year of Our Lord 1191. Good King Richard is crusading in the Holy Land, leaving his scheming brother John to seize the throne of England. Across the land, the people suffer hardship and strife. If ever the realm needed the wizards' wisdom, it needs it now. The time has come for the Wizards' Council of Stranggore to rebuild its strength and reclaim its destiny. One of the aged magi sends forth a flight of ravens from his tower, searching the land for young wizards with the character and resolve to help heal the ailing land.