In the lands of Akrahmur in the far East, an ancient evil has been building its careful plans for centuries while the kingdoms of men grow weak and diminish. A vast and terrible horde of men and of unnatural creatures prepares to sweep down from the icy mountains into the fertile kingdoms below. On the eve of their destruction, men go on as they always have, oblivious to their doom. Sleepy oxen drag plows across rows of wheat, world-weary farmers whisking long sticks above their great shag...

In the autumn of 1873, one of the worst yellow fever epidemics in U.S. history swept through Shreveport. As the deadly scourge claimed a quarter of the town's population, the dedicated efforts of five missionary priests offered a call to hope, even as they laid down their own lives in the struggle. True martyrdom is vanishingly rare, extolled as the highest possible sacrifice, yet Shreveport bore abundant witness through these five saintly priests. Their heroism in the midst of this tragic...