In Prince of Persia: Rival Swords, the Prince makes his way home to Babylon. With him, he bears Kaileena, the enigmatic Empress of Time, and unspeakable scars from the Island of Time. Instead of the peace he longs for, he finds his kingdom ravaged by war and Kaileena the target of a brutal plot. Her death unleashes the Sands of Time, which strike the Prince and threaten to destroy everything he holds dear. Cast out on the streets, hunted as a fugitive, the Prince soon discovers that the Sands have tainted him, too. They have given rise to a deadly Dark Prince, whose spirit gradually possesses him.