Darek the apprentice aphotecary had led a humble and unassuming life on the tiny island of Kyandara (the free north). But things quickly change for Darek and his friends as their peaceful existence is interrupted by the goings on of the outside world - a world of warring city-states, fantastic creatures and dangerous voyages. Strange visions, coupled with the return of a long lost hero, serve to send the islanders far from home; a home to which they long to return and yet which may never be the same again.