LH: Reading the history of Corwenth, it looks like life is settled and good. Where does the story in Cult begin? Are there new uprisings in the world or perhaps evidence of the return of the Black Dragon?

PN: Llife was settled and good indeed. But a short time ago, Taymurian's wolven tribes started an expansion. The northern borders of Corwenth's Kingdom (where the story takes place) are no longer safe and you can (and will) surely encounter some wolves and their shamans. If this is not enough, the player will find that even if the society seems to be settled and happy, it doesn't have to be truth, and that the truth is perhaps out there waiting to be discovered, if indeed there is any truth:-).
The story of the Cult starts in the moment when a young monk apprentice and his orphan are coming back to the monastery from meditations and they find nothing but flames and death within the monastery walls. It is indeed true that such a deed could be committed only by very powerful and evil ones. There is no proof to think that the Black Dragon is behind it, but there is also nothing that says it can't be so:-)