Galen is a prince alright, but he could not be further away from what his parents expect from an heir to the throne. Hoping to make more of a man out of him, they send him off to fight a dragon who is plaguing the Land Behind Nine Mountains and Nine Rivers. Or is it? Galen agrees not because he means to get into a fight - he's not a barbarian after all - but because he's never seen a dragon before and has always been fascinated by magical creatures. Except that the dragon's not what it seems. And the prince's journey takes an unexpected twist that his parents certainly did not see coming.