Ancient legend tells of an army of knights that will remain sleeping until the last days.
The Knights are waking up.
A homeless man is stalked by a pale, wraithlike creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Maimed animals and a host of suicides cluser around a mountain in Scotland. And deep beneath the cobbled streets of Oxford, a malicious hoard besieges a hidden city.
Freya Reynolds is a university student with a touch of OCD and an obsession with myth and folklore. Daniel Tully is living rough on the streets of Oxford, waging a secret war against an enemy only he can identify. Years ago, they found themselves in a world few know is real. They have since gone their separate ways and tried to put that adventure behind them.
But the mythical world is now bleeding into our reality—a dark spiritual evil that is manifesting itself in forgotten corners of the British Isles. Alex Simpson is a Scottish police officer who specializes in hunting mythical creatures. Together, they must confront the past, the present, and points beyond to defeat the ultimate threat to humanity.
Nothing they've seen so far prepares them for what awaits... in The Realms Thereunder
– Back Cover Blurb from the 2011 Thomas Nelson trade-paperback edition
"Knights of Ennor—the time has come to awake. Rise up to fulfill your secret oath and sacred duty."
Deep beneath the streets of England lies another realm… one few in our modern world know exists. Daniel and Freya, however, know it all too well. Eight years ago, these friends first journeyed through portals into the hidden land of Niðergeard—discovering a city filled with stones, secrets, and sleeping knights that serve to protect the world they call home.
But Niðergeard has falled to dark forces, overrun by its enemies. Gates are being opened between the worlds that should have been kept closed. The battle lines for the war at the end of time have been drawn, and opposing forces are starting to gather.
Having served for centuries as the first and last outpost at the borders to other worlds, Niðergeard must be reclaimed and the mystery of its fall discovered. Daniel and Freya, along with an ancient knight and a Scottish police officer, must return to the legendary city, rally the surviving citizens, and awaken the sleeping knights—knights who are being killed, one by one, as they sleep.
But time is running out faster than they know.
– Back Cover Blurb from the 2012 Thomas Nelson trade-paperback edition
Freya Reynolds and Daniel Tully were abducted eight years ago and taken to the underground world of Niðergeard, a realm where mythical forces prevail. Niðergeard was under attack by a vicious warlord, and Freya and Daniel were tasked with stopping the opposing leader in order to earn their way home.
They thought their mission was a success…but it has become clear that things are still amiss in Niðergeard.
After the appearance of a dragon in Scotland, there is no longer a question that the veil between the worlds is fractured. The evil that’s growing in Niðergeard is seeping through to the surface.
Years have passed, and Freya and Daniel are now adults. They must return to Niðergeard to restore peace. And although Freya and Daniel have very different visions for Niðergeard’s future, somehow they must determine what true success will be. Who can lead from the hero's throne? It's a crucial decision, as the fate of Niðergeard determines the spiritual survival of the surface world as well.
"The city of Niðergeard's long years of weathering any sort of siege were well and truly behind it. Whoever wanted to take the city could walk right in—just as Freya had."
A millennium's worth of evil plans are about to bear fruit for the dark wizard Gád. Niðergeard lies exposed, and at long last it is time for the dragons to be awakened and the gates between worlds to be thrown open.
A terrifying army of giants, dragons, trolls, and yfelgópes, assembled by Gád over centuries, awaits the wizard's order to invade Niðergeard. The end of the underground country—and life as we know it on the surface—is near.
All that lies in the way is the Langtorr, the last standing structure in the crumbling city. Waiting within the tower walls, Daniel and Freya, along with Alex, Vivienne, Ecgbryt the knight, and the city's remaining inhabitants, make up the last line of defense for Niðergeard…and the last ray of hope for all humanity.
The army is gathered. The alliance for good is holed up in the Langtorr. The fate of Britain—and the world—will be decided in the events of a single day…a day when the Fearful Gates are finally opened, and thje mystery that lies behind them is revealed.
– Back Cover Blurb from the 2014 Thomas Nelson trade-paperback edition