It is the year 1193. King Richard "the Lionheart" of England is held prisoner in an Austrian castle. A handful of his men reach home charged with raising a ransom for his release, amongst them is Ivanhoe, who also wants to make peace with his father, Lord Cedric of Rotherwood Castle, for leaving his family to fight in the crusades.

Prince John, in his fortress of Torquilstone Castle, has his necromancer Mordour try to kill Ivanhoe, but without success, so they decide to destroy the things close to him, and sack Rotherwood Castle.

Marjan the Magnificent finds a amulet that allows him to walk through mirrors and pass the demon world in between the mirrors. Prince John immediately hires Marjan, sending him out to kill King Richard's supporters, but Ivanhoe will not allow this to happen.

A blood-red moon rises over England, and it bodes ill for a country still enduring the Norman boot, but the same moon also shines on the ancient forests and pagan glades of the land, where liberty lies hidden and a young warrior-knight will shortly undergo an amazing and mystical transformation.

Ivanhoe robs King John's mint to help raise King Richard's ransom, which is being collected by Lord Sirus. Rebecca & Odo take the money to Sirus in York, while Ivanhoe goes to see Fingal, who instructs him on how to find the Ultimate Sword, a weapon with the magical power to tear the fabric of space and time. However, Mordour is also on its trail, and gets there first, using it to travel to Rotherwood Castle in the time of Ivanhoe's infancy in order to kill him - Ivanhoe follows him and tries to thwart his intentions.