Their will be need in the world for one of unique background, skill, and temperament. Thomas, Ceitidh, Yorid, Axis, and Zophiel all play an uncertain part in the forming of this one. This is the story of a knight carrying out a political mission, then of two runaways escaping a country, then of old friends retreading old paths, then of the greatest in their practice on a quest for a query without parallel. None of the participants on any of the journeys at any point realized the greater design in them.
Seventeen-year-old Jak is struggling to get through high school. From the bus driver who hates him to his English teacher that finds any excuse to make his life miserable. However, Jak is determined to get back home to his mother after magically being pulled into another world through the magic of a meteor shower.
Kaolin is a world where today's technology doesn't exist. An old couple rescue Jak from the cold mountain air and help him take steps in finding a way home. At the same time the king's men sense the illegal use of magic that brought Jak to Kaolin and come looking for him. The old couple use themselves as decoys, allowing Jak to get away.
He finds himself with the resistance against a tyrannical king after narrowly escaping the general of the king's knights. He had a little help from a new comrade and an ancestral dragon. The members of the resistance think he is just another unfortunate magic-user who is seeking asylum. However, when Jak bonds with the ancestral dragon he is given an ancient power not witnessed in three hundred years. Along with this new power, the dragon comes with a prophetic warning that Jak's presence on Kaolin is a greater threat to the balance of nature than the murderous king and he must leave before it is too late.
Once Jak uncovers a way back to Earth, he also discovers the old couple that saved him is being held within the dungeons of the capital. He is forced to choose between saving them and preventing the dragon's catastrophic prophecy.