The Empire secure at last, Valerius finds that far from being able to rest, he must now rebuild what he has conquered. Exhausted after two years of effort, he takes a vacation with Queen and their young children to visit her ailing father King Reuters in Dulcai. But rest is not to be had there, either, for a strange prophecy drives Valerius back to the Inland Sea to confront yet another form of evil. Sailing a new type of ship designed by King Koltar, and joined by Vahla with the ubiquitous Chad, Valerius faces a possessed bastard son of Fantar in a series of sea battles before climbing back into the mountains south of Zagorbia to face his ultimate test and learn at last the secret power of the magic gem, the Eye of Valeria.