Pug and Tomas are two kitchen boys in the castle of Crydee with big dreams of being soldiers. But when choosing day arrives and Pug fails to be chosen by the swordmaster as an apprentice along with Tomas, he finds himself instead under the tutelage of Kulgan, a master magician. Kulgan instructs Pug in the arts of the mystical path of magic and discovers that the boy has an amazing talent - provided that he can work his way past an unusual mental block that is holding back his true power. Things, however, are about to change forever when Pug and Tomas stumble across the shipwreck of a vessel bearing an army from another world - strange, olive-skinned men with armor and weaponry made of sharpened wood and hide, preparing to invade the world of Midkemia through a series of rifts in time and space in search of metal. The kingdom must be warned, for a war is about to begin. And Pug and Tomas will play their own unique role in the unfolding events - one will become a master who will make both worlds tremble at his power, and the other will become something almost otherworldly, one who can command even the dragons as his servants. The Riftwar begins here Collects Magician Apprentice #1-6.

Pug and Tomas are invited on an expedition with Duke Borric to the east to Rillanon to warn King Rodric about the impending invasion of the Tsurani, an army that is pouring into the world of Midkemia through rifts in space in search of metal and other fineries. But their journey will be fraught with peril, and it will take them from the kingdom of Crydee through the mines of Mac Mordian Cadal and down to the spectacular city of Krondor, the capital of the western realm. And even once they gain the support of Prince Erland, the ruler of the armies of the west, they must finish they journey to Rillanon, where King Rodric has succumbed to madness and believes that Borric and Erland are plotting to take over his throne... But there is no time for politics, for soon, Crydee falls under attack, and the kingdom cannot afford to wait for the support of the east. The Riftwar has started... but both Pug and Tomas will endure some surprising twists that will change them forever by this volume's conclusion! Collects Magician Apprentice #7-12.

Collects Riftwar #1-5. The Castle Crydee has stood strong against a multitude of enemies over the years, and has kept its people safe. But now, a new enemy from another world threatens to destroy them, and Prince Arutha, Swordmaster Fannon, and Squire Roland struggle to keep them at bay. Meanwhile, Pug, apprentice to the magician Kulgan, goes on an offensive with his master and a band of soldiers into the heart of the enemy camp. It's a daring challenge, one that will ultimately prove fatal for one of them, and change the course of the other's life.