Transequestrian Route 52, also known as the Big 52, was slowly withering. From Salt Cube City to Emerald Shores, towns were becoming abandoned, slavers and raiders roamed where just a few years ago traders traveled safely, mysterious creatures haunted the north ridges, and the desert seemed to swallow whole even the most heavily armed groups of explorers. Nopony was willing to save the present while dangers continued to surface from the past. It was time to wake up a hero.