The book, Many Years From the West, has been identified to be one of the most comprehensive sources on the subject of the undead and their disposal. As such, it has been sought out for many years by the undead and either hoarded or destroyed. Those who have taken the book have taken advantage of it to exploit the other undead creatures that walk this plane, bending them to their own will.

In the Age of Wandering Kings, Abidan Ghayth was a solitary warrior and scribe, leasing himself as a mercenery and killer of monsters to the many Kings who wandered the deserts that had swept the world. He recorded that which he saw and knew to be true, from sources of holymen, first-hand experiances, and other Hunters of the undead. In those days, the world was relatively free of the scourge he sought to annihilate.

He collected his knowledge into a book, and when he died, it was given to a fellow Hunter, who retired to a monastary to copy down its truths. As the years wore on, this nameless Hunter-monk transcribed fifteen copies of the book before succumbing to death himself. The books were distributed to Hunters across the continent as they visited the monastary before they were forgotten or dismissed as fantastic ravings of a madman.

As the Age of Wandering Kings wound to a close and the desert began to recede upon itself, the undead began to slowly crawl back out from the rocks and tombs in which they were lying in wait. They began to propegate.

What had once looked as if it would remain a world free of the undead became rife with terror as copies of Many Years From the West were found and burned, either as heresy by demons in the guise of town leaders, or by the undead themselves.

The centuries wore on, until the undead became a tragic fact of life, and the people sank into despair.

Finally there was only one book left, an unfinished copy in the monastary, hidden among the many books of the shelves. There, a young copyroom monk, Brother David, found the book while searching through those that needed to be recopied before age and wear claimed them. While copying the book, he read it, and discovered that there were ways to stop these creatures of darkness, these fiends.

He took the book to his Abbot, who told him to proptly forget it. Surely that was all fiction.

David was not to be deterred. Shortly after, he stole the book, a rosary, a vial of holy water, and a set of layman's clothes from the monastary.

What became of David after this is unknown. Neither he, nor the book have been seen since.