Ilya Muromets comes home after his harrowing encounter with Svyatogor in the mountains. After receiving a blessing from his parents, he goes out into the world for the first time. Immediately, he saves a city from an army, to the acclaim of everyone. But a sinister force lies between him and Kiev, the capital city of Rus.

In the analysis section, Deacon Nicholas discusses the need for a new heroic paradigm in stories for our time. Perhaps neither Tolkien nor George R R Martin can provide us with the heroes we need now. It's time to look to a different, and maybe unexpected, source for heroism.