Violent storms, destructive quakes and waking volcanoes had plagued the land of Zadania until the Sefiramon, the World Shapers, came and calmed the chaos and shaped it into a paradise. They gave the people the nine fragments of the crystal, Sefiron, to contain the destructive forces and survive the untamed lands. The unexpected appearance of Sefiron's Shadow signals the need to rejoin the crystal fragments, and sets the hero, Brandorin, on a journey across unknown lands; a journey that parallels his search to find the renegade mage, Rhamak, who seeks control of the united crystal for himself. The power of the Sefiramon holding the destructive forces in check is already weakening. If Sefiron is not reunited in time, the powers of their fragments will cease, and their world will be torn apart.