Assassins are trying to kill him and Ferron has no idea why! Fleeing through a wilderness full of danger, Ferron finds himself in the city of Momar, where he meets an old master thief named Haffiest. Haffiest spares the boy's life for reasons that are unclear even to him - until he returns home. Carriel, who is Haffiest's wife of more than forty years, tells him that the boy must survive because he is to do something important and they are to help him. Haffiest knows from years of experience to trust his wife's innate ability to know the future. Ferron becomes entangled in a plot to overthrow the resident priest, Carponos, by being forced to steal an orb from Thalen, a mage shopkeeper. Ferron ingeniously subverts this plan, but still goes to jail for another petty theft. A judge, known for his harshness, uncharacteristically sentences Ferron to have his right hand removed, in lieu of death. Sick and with one less hand, Ferron is thrown defenseless into the cold of the street and into the sights of another would-be assassin. Haffiest, having been forewarned by Carriel, saves Ferron from certain death by slaying the assassin. Through Carriel's knowledge as a healer, she is able to cure Ferron's sickness and heal the stump of the missing hand. Soon they find themselves on the run because the impetus behind the assassination attempts; Kargon, the king of the dark elves, has tired of the endless failed attempts to kill the shieldbearer, sends his army to destroy the entire city of Momar, in which the shieldbearer hides. In the wilderness again, Ferron and company meet a group of men who seem half soldier and half buccaneer. These men know of the prophecy and help Ferron find a mythical shield that he will use to end Kargon's reign, thus fulfilling the mountain fortress of the dark king. Mogran, the god of evil to whom Kargon owes his allegiance, gives the king two bracelets with which he can control the Kell and the Hedrin. Fighting their way through a darkly hostile world, the travelers are assisted by luck and by different races that also wish to see an end to the evil king's rule. In an act of desperation, Kargon brings about the release of the progenitor of all dragons - now extinct in the world - knowing that it may destroy all life - but if he cannot have this world, no one will! Ferron must do battle with Draco, and win in order to bring to term the true nature of the prophecy - the birth of the god Lindra and the creation of new lands in the world.