The Cycles of Therran began when the tainted god first appeared and attempted to annihilate the land of Therran and all life upon it. Since his defeat, the tainted god rises from dormancy every thousand years, creating the Cycles. Seepage of Darkness is the first volume that chronicles the occurrence of the 5th Cycle. Tret is raised by his parents on a reclusive mountainside. His parents are killed from a magical attack just prior to his thirteenth birthday. For the next four years he lives alone on the mountainside, surviving as best as he is able. Moreck, a friend of his deceased parents, finally locates him. Tret finds out the truth about himself and his parents, which had been hidden from him since his birth. The young sorcerer follows Moreck, a master swordsman, to continue with the quest his parents began before he was born. The races of the elf, dwarf, and fae separated themselves from the human race almost one thousand ago, after the ending of the last Cycle, becoming present day myths. A magical talisman, belonging to each of the races, must find a wielder of it and come together for the final battle with the tainted god. Three different harbingers appear in the world, one at a time, preparing the way for the coming of their master. Records of them and the past Cycles were written in an ancient language that has been forgotten. Moreck and Tret set out to uncover lost knowledge, unite the talismans and their wielders, engage in a campaign to defend the land of Therran from the harbingers, and battle an evil group of sorcerers known as the Pentad.