Tamathiel is the story of five school children who, after a series of strange events at school, are swept away into a fantasy world of elves, dwarves, eagles and dark forces. This is the world of Tamathiel where the children first need to find each other, make new friends, learn new skills, and eventually fight the dark forces as part of the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy.

Dan Smith, whose father is a military man, is destined to become King. He needs much help and guidance from Gildrad and the leader of the eagles, Ironclaw. He eventually commands the forces into the two battles that are fought. During his adventures he needs to draw on all his strength as he is imprisoned, and also suffers a near fatal wound from the Dark Lord which leaves the dark mark upon him, the full effects of which are only begun to be understood in this book.

Luke and Becky arrive in Tamathiel together in the Golden City. Unsure where their friends are they are helped by a stranger. Luke is a natural linguist which is shown from the strange happenings in French lessons to his ability to read Dwarvish. Physically he is quite weak but he is very impetuous; he joins the Hall of Warriors and become adept at fighting with two short blades. Becky is a scientist and finds that her abilities are developed in the Hall of the Mage where she rapidly advances in rank. Later she is able to fight with magic and heal the wounded in the final battle. She is also very caring and befriends a ragamuffin boy Gil in the fishing village.

Joe is strong and confident and becomes skilled as a blacksmith making weapons, and also wielding his double headed axe. He is also accident prone, he falls out of a tree, gets shot in the stomach, and gets his arm cut in a tavern after following the suspicious looking dark warriors. Joe arrives in Tamathiel at the seaside town of Aven with Mel. She is a natural archer who later spends her time at Fjordenhill Fort practicing her skills, hunting for food, and preparing a banquet.

Gildrad is a knight at Fjordenhill Fort, he remembers the stories of the prophecy that his grandmother told him when he was young. He looks after Dan and treats him as a son. After seeing the dark mark on Dan his knowledge of folklore drives him to search the records at the Great Library in the Golden City where he is disturbed by what he finds.

The children and Gildrad first meet Scythe when everyone is looking for the king’s assassin. He always acts suspiciously and not all the children believe him to be friendly. It is only later in the book when Dan escapes from jail that his true nature is shown.

After the final battle and the defeat of the enemy the children are returned back to their own world – except Dan, who for some reason does not make it back. This lose end is the starting point for the next book which happens about seven years later …