An unnaturally heavy mist descends on the battlefield and King Andragoras meets with his most valued officers. When Darun, a young, highly skilled officer, voices his reluctance to send his men into battle under these conditions, another general, Karlan, makes Darun look a coward. The king, unstable and enraged, almost takes the young general's life.

Banished by the king for his "cowardice", Darun's new mission, as given to him by his Uncle Bafreez, is to insure the safety of the King's only son, Prince Arslan. After a brief encounter with Karlan on the battlefield, Darun realizes that his fellow General is behind a much deeper plot - siding with the Lusitanians to overthrow the kingdom. Forced to flee, Darun arrives by the Prince's side just in time to save the young boy's life. Together they leave the battlefield - not knowing that Arslan's father has been captured by the leader of the other army.

In their travels they stop at the cottage of the reclusive artist, Lord Narsus. When they arrive, the half-drunk Lord invites them to dinner. He seems very reluctant to help them, but a bit of diplomancy and charm convinces both Lord Narsus and his companion, Elam, to join them in their quest to reclaim the lost kingdom.

Meanwhile, mischievous Gieve, a travelling minstrel whose archery skills ended the torment of the high-ranking officer Shapool, winning him a meeting with the Queen (and some gold) has now parted the capital city. Shortly after he received his reward, the city was taken over by a mysterious man in a silver mask and his armies.

Later that night, Gieve encounters the beautiful warrior Pharangese - a preistess to the Goddess Misra. Her mission, given by the goddess herself, is to protect Prince Arslan in his hour of need.

During Arslan's confrontation with the traitor Karlan and his army, the two small groups combine - making them a grand total of 6 - still no match at all for the opposing army which numbers over 300,000, yet they are determined to find a way.