With Shaytana's Eye and the Xaxian Warriors, Kreel and Xax invade the Citadel, overthrow the kingdom and take Princess Vara prisoner. Now the only hope for the kingdom is the Crystal Arrow, Talisman of Kale: it's strength alone can defeat Shaytana's Eye. Kalem searches for a hero the true hero and finds William Tell, named after the ancient hero who was the original owner of the Crystal Arrow. Kalem tells him that he is to find the Crystal Arrow and to rescue the Princess Vara, the true ruler of Kale. He sets out on his quest with his loyal dog Alvar. On his way to the Citadel he is captured and thrown into the Mines. There Will meets and befriends Leon, the Heraclean, strong and wise; and Aruna, descended from a species of wildcat, beautiful, fierce and proud. Together they escape the Mines and infiltrate the Citadel. The Princess Vara is rescued, but against her own will, for she has been hypnotised by Kreel (who seeks to use her as a pawn), and she believes he and Xax will protect h

In the new reign of terror Xaxian Warriors have been pillaging the countryside, dispersing and destroying any tribes or villages which remain loyal to the old order. One of the survivors is Drogo - a boy close to Vara's age, descended from the wolf tribe. Drogo encounters the band and leads them to another survivor, the lovely Cyrana, who also joins the group. Will's crossbow has been broken in a foolish attempt by Vara to escape; Cyrana suggests the master craftsman Mondar could fix it, and they set off to find him. But however they change their course, Xax remains hot on their trail, desperate to retrieve Princess Vara to act as her ""protector"". It becomes clear there must be a traitor in their group passing information somehow to the Warriors: but which of the newcomers is it? Mondar is being held prisoner by Kreel and Xax, who wish him to create a new superweapon from the Crystals. Xax also holds Mondar's only child as a hostage and whose life will be forfeit if he does not comply

The Lords Xax and Kreel have put a price on the head of William Tell - and are distributing Wanted posters around all the villages. As two slaves, Freya and Pieter, are about to be set free by their master Hugo, a Xaxian Captain appears and harshly reminds them that according to a new statute, slaves are necessary to the economy and can no longer be freed. Pieter is to be sent to the mines; the beautiful Freya, coveted by Xax, is sent to the Citadel. Princess Vara escapes from William Tell during a battle with Xaxian Warriors and is befriended by Tyrean nymphs, who are secretly in the pay of Xax. Hugo asks Will for help to rescue his beloved – Freya. Will says they must first recover Vara. In the battle, two Xaxian Warriors are wounded - and in retribution, their Captain intends to execute twenty villagers, unless William Tell gives himself up. Will feels he has no choice. He is taken to the Citadel and imprisoned. Kreel and Xax cynically set up a mock ""trial"", to convict Will for the

A bold plan of William Tell's is to infiltrate the Citadel through his friend, the brilliant horseman Alexim - but this goes dangerously awry when Leon is caught talking to Alexim in the marketplace, and arrested. Rather than execute Leon immediately, as Xax would prefer, Kreel holds Leon prisoner - as bait, convinced that William will mount a rescue attempt. Will witnesses Leon's arrest and seizes a Xaxian Warrior's deathwand which he takes back to the Shelter with him. Will believes he can tune the deathwand to his thoughts, but in fact the reverse is true: the deathwands work by tuning the bearer into the Dark Crystal, and therefore making them vulnerable to Kreel's evil influence. Will has a plan of his own and lures Xax from the Citadel by proposing a duel with deathwands in the forest. With Xax out of the way and with the help of Alexim, Will instead slips into the Citadel to rescue Leon... But Kreel is expecting him, and the closer Will gets to Shaytana's Eye the more he is pull

Will has become obsessed with bitter memories of his parents, dead at Xax's hands. Despite Kalem's warning that he must concentrate on his Quest, Will cannot leave aside fruitless thoughts of revenge. Kreel has a new plan for subjugating Kale. He is beginning to form a Youth Brigade - ""educating"" the children of the various regions and villages to form a spy network. One of these is Lucien, a boy of around Vara's age, whose home - the Hidden Valley - is known to Will of old. Will believes the Hidden Valley will prove a safe haven for his exhausted group - but its people are strangely altered. Leon discovers Kreel has contaminated the water supply with the powerful hypnotic substance lythmarg - the ""waking sleep"" - and in so doing has created a class of willing slaves. Leon can brew an antidote, but he feels that there is no time for this - amongst such zombies they are all in great danger, and should move on immediately. Will feels a loyalty to the villagers who treated him so kindly a