The first volume in 'The Sovereign Stone' trilogy.
Gareth is just a frightened lad when he is chosen as whipping-boy for Prince Dagnarus of Vinnegael. Desperately shy, his face disfigured by an angry birthmark, Gareth finds security in the ruthlessly ambitious prince's shadow. Destiny decrees that they will become the two most powerful - and feared - men in the kingdom.
The human kingdom of Vinnegael lies in the heart of a land webbed with magical tunnels which shorten the vast distances between nations. But resentment is growing among the Elves, Dwarves and Orken, for the axis lies in Vinnegael, and only from its human subjects do the gods appoint Dominion lords, magical knights bound to protect the tunnels from invasion. Desperate to avert war, Dagnarus' father, King Tamaros, turns to the gods for guidance and is rewarded with the Sovereign Stone, a magic crystal which once divided into four allows the other races to create their own Dominion Lords. But when Dagnarus decides to become a knight himself, he begins a chain of events that threatens to destroy the entire kingdom.
