Tales of the kingdom

Since he was little, Oriel has lived on the Sixth Damall's island, where all the boys are terrorized and trust is a luxury that no one can afford, so even though he has been chosen as the Seventh Damall, Oriel takes the most prized gemstone, a beryl, engraved with a falcon, and leaves the island with his only friend, Griff -- but the Kingdom on the mainland has its own dangers, which the two must face.

In a time of winter famine, the People tell the legend of Jackaroo, a masked outlaw who comes at night to aid the destitute and helpless, and sixteen-year-old Gwyn, the innkeeper's daughter, begins a quest to find the truth behind the legend--or maybe start a legend of her own.

Raised among the barbaric Wolfers, thirteen-year-old Elske is saved from becoming the king's death sacrifice by her grandmother, and flees north, where she becomes the servant and friend of Princess Beriel--who is determined to claim the kingdom that is her birthright, stolen from her by her treacherous brother.

Faced with the prospect of an unhappy life in the Kingdom, fourteen-year-old Birle accompanies a young runaway nobleman on a journey south and falls into slavery in the citadel of a cruel prince.