You do not choose your own mask. Your masks are given to you, either by your superiors, or by destiny. Those who choose their masks trifle with the spirits within, and invite evil and senseless destruction. So teach the ancients. But Elu, the son of the village teacher of Gheb, wants to choose his own path. He scorns his master—the village potter—bringing shame on his family and dishonor to himself, and seeks only adventure and exploration. One fateful day, while accompanied by his friend Thora, his wanderings unleash an unspeakable evil on the world. They find masks of terrible power in the forbidden barrows—masks of legend—one of which seizes Thora and possesses her, and she escapes into the world, bringing terror and darkness wherever she goes. Elu leaves his home village, running both from home and from the terror he has unleashed. But running has consequences, and he will realize that only he holds the key to stop the shadow terrorizing the land of Terremar. For just as a maskmaker creates a mask of legend by power and life sacrificed, only by power and sacrifice can one be uncreated.