Blackrock - the world's most valuable ore. Nearly impervious to the fires of forging and magics alike, yet a violent reagent in spells best forgotten - the bane of the Britannian government and its great hope. Entire cities have been wiped off the face of the map, and every rumor, every whisper points to this mysterious substance. It's been known to drive men mad and beasts wild. More than one infirmary houses raving lunatics, with their imaginary voices, and victims of vicious blackrock infected monsters.

At last, one mage believes he's found a way to locate blackrock en masse, with a cunning artifice of machinery and arcane power. Even when his own fellows abandoned him and his work, Kronos found unexpected support in the government, eager to fund his work. He's worked his entire life just for a moment like this, and Moonglow will be forever remembered as the place where his legacy was born. His machine, aided by an ancient artifact and a sample of blackrock, will at last prove his theories... he knows it will.

But more eyes are on this project than even the government knows. Beyond the benign alchemical research lies a darker power. Friendships will be tested, loyalties questioned, and a future forged by the actions of those who come and bear witness to this "Mad Mage."