An apprentice swordsman, Locke has ridden the narrow trail to the City of the Sorcerers to see with his own eyes the Ward Walls that hold back the Realms of Chaos. It is Locke's dream to become a Chaos Rider, and he seeks his destiny beyond the Wall. And it is Locke's hope that somewhere in the Wildness, where time and change rage out of control, his lost father still survives.But more than mere survival is at stake. For on the other side of the Wall awaits a Darkness beyond all ken—a burgeoning evil that will test the steel of one young hero ... and the entire bold and foolish race called Humanity.