Publisher's Synopsis
A young warrior hears the tale about the men who built the hot gates, the place where Herakles became the patron of the hot springs and the 300 Spartans sacrificed their lives. He learns that the men who fashioned Thermopylae are also responsible for the disappearance of warriors who have fought there over the centuries. He also learns that his knowledge of these mysterious men has caused a shift in the order of things, and that he has no choice but to become a warrior and fight a dark army. "They say that history has been repeated. Warriors have gone to Thermopylae and never returned. Each of them went there to achieve glory, but they vanished in the shadows. The men who built the hot gates always appeared before them, looking into their eyes and determining whether history will remember their names. These men all had the same face, for they embodied the way that history repeated itself. When warriors defeated the enemy at the hot gates, these men appeared and made them disappear. So you see, warriors went there and vanished. But the Spartans fought at the hot gates and sacrificed themselves. Their sacrifice was closely observed by the men lurking in the shadows, the men who built the gates. These men saw Leonidas and the other Spartans fight more valiantly than any warrior before them. The Spartans died before they could be swallowed by the shadows.
