In a land plagued by bitterness and uncertainty, Fiere of the Black Blade, the daughter of a sea nymph, goes on a journey to find a place where she can belong. But on the way, she becomes entangled in the stories of other heroes: Danon, the inexperienced prince who must find a wife who will continue the royal line; Akitta, the vain nymph who is cursed that no man may ever touch her; Brunengang, the beardless dwarf who betrays his own people; Laduin, the child from another world who wants to find his way home; and Shaava, the reluctant druid who must fullfill a prophecy from an unknown God, whether she likes it or not.... a prophecy which sends them to the end of the world and back to either save the mythical world of Faerphilly, or destroy it.