Using the death of the fearsome Ögedei Khan, the Mongol invasion of the West continues to be taken to an abrupt halt. The defenders, a band of fearless warrior monks known as the Shield-Brethren, limp homeward again across a iced, bloodied wasteland. But where – and what – is usually “home” given that the threat of invasion no longer styles their lives? Thirteenth-century Europe has been saved from annihilation at the hands of the Mongols, to be certain, but fresh and terrible risks are at hand: political and religious turmoil threaten to carefully turn the warriors’ globe upside down once more. Painted against a wealthy backdrop of middle ages mysticism and Russian folklore, Katabasis weaves together the tales of victor and sufferer alike in a fearless exploration of what it means not only to survive, but to truly live once again.