What defines a hero? Are heroes born, or created?

For Terin Caleph, living on his family's farm in the Torry realm, the complexities of wars and heroes have never crossed his radar. He spends his days tending to the lush fields, and his evenings with his loving parents. But all that changes when, nearing his 18th birthday, he has been hand-chosen to work as a scribe for a Torry ambassador, and an old friend of his father's.

Before leaving for this new life, his father gifts Terin with an ancient, luminous sword and instructs him to keep it close at all times. Terin can't possibly fathom why he would need such a magnificent weapon, and yet he soon discovers that life outside his family's farm is nothing like he could have imagined, and the sword will soon come in handy.

Gargoyles are threatening the kingdoms of Arax, emboldened by their alliance with Tyro and his army of humans. Together, they intend to overthrow the rest of the humans. The future of Arax looks grim as gargoyle attacks become more fierce and frequent, pulling resources from the central cities and separating the human armies.

Terin must band together with a motley crew of renegades that include an esteemed Torry warrior and a thuggish group of "Earthers" who shipwrecked on his planet. Together they find themselves in the midst of the fight against Tyro and his gargoyle empire. With his father's mysterious sword at his side guiding him, and the fate of the human world resting on the outcome of this war, Terin begins to question the real reason he was called to be a royal scribe.

Will Terin's heroic attempts to thwart the gargoyles prevail, or will the kingdoms of Arax fall to their vicious attacks?

Find out in Of War and Heroes, Book One in The Chronicles of Arax.