 A young man named JARIK wishes to join the warriors serving LORD GRANDAR, the lord of his village, Hollow Grange. But Lord Grandar rejects Jarik, causing him shame in front of two visiting warrior-women. The warrior-women are TYLONEE and LEYALLA, from the neighboring country known as THE KEMARR. The Kemarrans have often been at war with Jarik s people, the ORIN, because amongst the Orin the men are the warriors and rulers, but amongst the Kemarrans, the women are the warriors and rulers. Leyalla speaks privately to Jarik for a few moments and he instantly loses his heart to her. But her older sister, Tylonee, reminds Leyalla that if she wishes to become a Dagger of Virtue, she must remain untouched by a man. After they leave, Jarik becomes aware of the sounds of battle coming from the direction of his village. As he runs toward the village, he encounters a DAGANI, a race of swamp people from a distant land, rarely seen in Orin. The Dagani warrior does not speak and Jarik is forced to defend himself. As the Dagani dies, he coughs up a stone with a strange mystic symbol (a Sigil) engraved upon it. A second later, what seemed to be a Dagani reverts to the form of a monster. It was not a real Dagani, but some sort of Changeling. When Jarik picks up the engraved stone, the Sigil burns itself into the flesh of his palm. Jarik runs back to his village to find it in flames. Lord Grandar declares war on the Dagani. He is in no mood to listen to Jarik s story of the Dagani Changeling or the strange Sigil. Even the words of prophecy and doom from NEFREET, the wise woman of the village, cannot stop Grandar from charging off with his men to start a bloody war. Nefreet is powerful in the WYRD. The Wyrd is the life-force that weaves together all living things. The threads of the Wyrd can be used to create magic, see visions, and for many other forms of power. Nefreet gives Jarik an urgent mission: to stop Grandar and to learn the meaning of the Sigil. As Jarik travels toward the distant land of Dagan, he encounters SUNDEEP, a mage of the lizard-like race known as the SAROJIN. The Sarojin live in Palash, beyond Dagan. They are renown as mages and scholars. No one knows more about the workings of the Wyrd than the Sarojin. But SunDeep is arrogant. In his overbearing pride, he can t be bothered to answer any of Jarik s questions, for SunDeep is on a mission of his own. His revered master, SILVERSCALE, has sent him to find a scroll containing the wisdom of an ancient, extinct race known as the CHANDARATH. SunDeep has no time for a mere peasant boy. Jarik encounters various enemies and monsters as he makes his way to Dagan. There he finds a village that has been burned and its people killed. A powerful Dagani warrior, TAHIR, attacks Jarik in a rage. Only the sudden appearance of Tahir s slain twin brother, MAHIR, saves Jarik from this attack. Tahir explains that twins are extremely rare amongst the Dagani. They share the same soul. Until Tahir can find and slay the man who killed his brother, Tahir is under a blood-curse and his brother s spirit cannot be set free. He blames the Orin and Lord Grandar for Mahir s death, but Jarik suspects that they may have been attacked by Changelings disguised as Orin. Jarik vows to help Tahir and Tahir joins him on his quest. First, they visit the Dagani Oracle, deep in the Dagan swamps. The Oracle knows that Jarik seeks the origin of the Changelings and the cause of the evil that is overtaking every part of the land. The Oracle tells Jarik that to find the answer to this, he must seek out the tombs of four mythic heroes. One hero was DROMMAR 9-FINGERS of the race of ORIN (human) such as Jarik; one was ZONRA, a Kemarran; one a Dagani, CHARAK; and one a Sarojin called WHIPTAIL. Each of these Heroes held within their grasp the power of the Eternal Blade. Yet each was cursed with a fatal flaw and the Eternal Blade was lost, for only a true Hero can prevail in attaining this end. Only the Eternal Blade can undo the growing evil. The answer will not be complete until he opens all four tombs to find what lies within each one. Jarik and Tahir set out to follow the Oracle s commands. The quest for the four tombs takes them to each of the Nine Lands. They must confront monsters and battle mysterious ghostly beings known as the ETHEREALS. Jarik suffers from painful visions of some monstrously powerful and evil being who is twisting the Wyrd, drinking from the very substance of life. In the Kemarr, Jarik is distressed to find that the Kemarran he met before, Tylonee, is on trial for murder. She is made an outcast and forced to leave the Kemarr forever with the Mark of Shame branded upon her face. Jarik knows Leyalla must fear for her sister, so he offers Tylonee the chance to redeem herself by joining their quest. She does so. Their continued search for all the tombs takes them into a labyrinth of underground tunnels and caverns known as THE TWISTING DEEPS. Here they do battle with the Sarojin mage, SilverScale. After driving him away, they find and free SunDeep, who is no longer proud or arrogant. He has been betrayed by his master, SilverScale, and has been imprisoned so long in the darkness, he is nearly dead. Thanks to Jarik, Tahir and Tylonee, SunDeep manages to survive and vows to serve their quest. SunDeep also imparts vital information about the Sigil which Jarik has branded into his hand. With each tomb they find, a new revelation awaits them. The ultimate fate of Grandar is unraveled. Jarik learns more and more about the Eternal Blade, about his own- destiny, and about a terrible secret that he bears.