About the book: year / Abstract of the novel. Part 1. Amber of Nero. 1st century n. e. In the Roman Empire, two powerful communities of magicians are fighting - the Brotherhood of the Sun and the Brotherhood of Darkness. The second of them seeks to bring the False Nero to power (by instilling in him the spirit of the real Nero) with the help of an amber amulet that subordinates the will of people to the will of its owner. Half of the amulet, however, was taken away by the patrician Publius Libo, who became the prince of the Samogitian Lithuanians. The head of the brotherhood of darkness, Valens, and his disciple Epiphanes want to destroy the Amber House - the temple of Lada in the Baltic states. Ardagast, the king of the Rosses and the Venedian Slavs, at the call of the Brotherhood of the Sun, goes to the aid of Libo and the temple, together with his friend, the king of the Sarmatians Inismey and Epiphanes' brother Callinicus. He is supported by a secret alliance of wolf people. The Medvedich brothers (half-humans, half-bears), Epiphanes and the Gothic sorceress Ermengilda incite strife between the tribes over the riches of the temple. On Kupala night a fierce battle breaks out. Epiphanes and the sorceress create a mighty dragon, raise a ship with dead warriors from the sea, and call on the witches, led by the Bear sisters, for help. Ardagast's army defeats the Goths and their allies and saves the temple. Epiphanes, Ermengilda and the Bears die. Libon agrees to destroy the amulet. Part 2. Two wild hunters. The spirit of Nero enters the Emperor Domitian. The Romans invade the lands of the Germans (in what is now the Czech Republic). Ardagast comes to the aid of the Germans, with an army of Slavs, Sarmatians and dog-headed demons. He is followed by Guido, the “night king” of the Bastarn tribe, taking revenge on the Dews for the death of his father, and the black druid Besomir. The Romans are supported by the German prophetess Hanna, who secretly serves the goddess of the underworld Perchta. Valens seeks to pit the deceased rival kings Marobod and Catualda and their “wild hunts” (ghost squads) against one another. The gods Perkhta and Wodan intervene in the struggle of people. On Christmas night, Ardagast and the Armenian prince-magician Mher Artsruni manage to prevent the battle of the “wild hunts”. Guido kills Ardagast, but the dead kings try on and help their fellow tribesmen defeat the legions. Dazhdbog resurrects his chosen one - the Tsar of the Russians. Part 3. The Bound Giant. Domitian's troops invade Transcaucasia. Ardagast leads the Sarmatian army to the Daryal Gorge. Valens wants to free and turn into his weapon the giant chained by the heavenly gods to the top of Elbrus. The warlock is opposed by his son, the solar magician Joseph. Valens comes to Elbrus together with the Svan mountaineers deceived by him and the Armenian prince Agram, a descendant of dragons. Ardagast and Mher thwart the necromancer's plan. Ardafarn, son of Ardagast, and his friends destroy the Black Sun sign erected by Valens. The Tsar of the Rosses and his comrades defeat Valens and the demons of the seven luminaries summoned by him. The black magician dies in an avalanche caused by a giant. The mountaineers, who had regained their sight, together with the Sarmatians, defeated the Romans in Daryal. At the same time, Ardagast's friends expel the dissolute and cruel goddess Tamar from the temple. Domitian, defeated by the Armenians, retreats.