<b><big><center> Late one night,<P> piercing screams<P> awake the villages of Noor. </center></big></b> <P> And the next day the bones of a young woman are found deep in the surrounding forests. Terror courses through the hearts of the villagers, along with something else...relief. An attack such as this is not uncommon in Noor. <P> The Shriker, a massive beast of unimaginable strength and rage, has roamed the dark woods for nearly three hundred years, savaging those unfortunate enough to encounter him. The people of Noor have lived in fear for so long that most have forgotten that the Shriker was once a loyal dog until the day his master betrayed and cursed him, condemning him to life as a monster. But Miles and Hanna Ferrell have never forgotten where the Shriker came from -- how could they? It was, after all, their ancestor who betrayed the dog.