• The year is 1830, and the American railroad system is beginning to snake its way across the country. As a surveyor hired under Colonel John Stevens, you have been sent to a remote part of the western territories to scope out the land. During your journey, the landscape starts changing in unexpected ways. The desert sands are now forming hard, sharp peaks, and the reptiles seem to be getting larger the further west you go. The people seem different as well. The settlers you to talk to refuse to make eye contact and are wary of you, regardless of how friendly you are. One older woman warns you not to go too far west, or you might get too close to him. You ask who "he" is, but the old woman shushes you, shakes her head, and shuffles away. Her warning plays over in your mind as you keep riding west, not knowing what lies ahead. Eventually, among the sharpened sand peaks and unspeakable creatures, you see a dark and jagged tower on the far horizon. Soon thereafter, you are captured and brought to the court of the Desert Magus, an ancient warlock with immeasurable power who reveals that he has been the one reshaping the West to his will—and he intends to continue.