The book is a work of fiction. It loosely uses German legends like a dwarf that drinks a barrel of wine, a giant pike, the Pied Piper and the werewolves and witches of fairy stories. It also follows the ebb and flow of a centuries-long conflict between the Islamic and Christian worlds as well as the rise of the Lutheran/Roman Catholic conflict. The inspiration for the book was a childhood exposure to the castles and cathedrals of Germany (especially along the Rhine River.)
