Torvard, a конунg burdened with a terrible curse, is constantly seeking battles to give outlet to the spirit of destruction living within him. But the more he desires death, the harder it becomes to kill him—such is the double nature of his curse. Arriving on the Green Islands, he wins several victories, nearly perishes in a clash with a giantess, and then finds on one of the islands the Fortress of Shadows—a ancient mound that conceals a passage into the Other World. Entering it, Torvard sees a sword named Kaladbolg—the Earth-Creating one—belonging to Боадагу, the local deity and king of the Other World. And Torvard cannot avoid a confrontation with Боадагу—the Red King of Hills, who in this world and the next relentlessly pursues Elit, Torvard’s companion, who carries within her the gift of sacred power over the island of the old king Miada.