Tasked by the Adventurer’s Guild, and Hamsa the Alchemist, to gather some herbs, Gilgamesh ventures forth with his companions to the primordial Sainba forest. There, he fights, and overcomes, a mighty Karilla and a score of crocodilian River Lurkers.
Returning to Hamsa with the herbs, the Alchemist entreats Gilgamesh to take his adopted half-elven daughter, Larynda, to the faraway city of Al-Lazar.
Gilgamesh reluctantly agrees, and with Larynda in tow, they join up with a caravan led by a certain Laes Harevor. However, Elwin, judging that Al-Lazar is simply too far away from his family, leaves Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh questions Hamsa about a possible Alchemical solution to achieve immortality. Hamsa hints that such an alchemic solution could be found in Al-Lazar or at the University of Quas.
Gilgamesh next negotiates with Laes to be employed as a temporary guard for the duration of the journey. Under the caravan master’s wing, Gilgamesh and company are finally able to escape the city of Ansan.
Just after they leave the city, Hamsa is attacked in Ansan by a mysterious group of elves led by Lady Arimea. When he refuses to tell them where Larynda has gone, Lorsan, an elven Swordmaster, is commanded to cut the Alchemist down for his insolence.
But Hamsa is no mere Alchemist, rather, he is the Hero, a gestalt being reincarnated countless times to serve humanity in its most dire hours. The Hero was able to cut down most of the elves, but was struck from behind by an ice spell cast by Lady Arimea, ending his life.
The caravan continues the first stage of its journey across the Grass Sea, an endless verdant plain of flowing grass. Despite being green, water is scarce here, meaning that a Water Mage is required to provide water for groups crossing its viridian expanse.
They are intercepted by a group of Tides horsemen and the militant wing of the Church of Avaria, who are looking for Gilgamesh. Among this group is the Temple Knight Cordelia, a mighty warrior wielding the magical sword The Weight of Justice.
Fearing that Laes would betray them, Gilgamesh forces the issue, commanding the Hunter Kidu to let loose an arrow. Things devolve into a general melee. Larynda, wishing to turn the tide of battle, uses Chaos magic to unleash a deadly forest of crystal spears. This kills many of their enemies, but leaves the girl mage exposed to enemy bow arrows.
In a heroic act, Kidu shields the girl with his own body but is grievously wounded. Gilgamesh rushes over to save his friend and casts a Greater Heal and Holy Aura in combination.
Cordelia, witnessing the holy light of the combined spells, believes that Gilgamesh is the Herald, Avaria’s chosen. She tries to stop the ongoing conflict but is declared a traitor by the other members of the Church detachment. Her faith tested, Cordelia is forced to fight against them.
When the fighting is done, the Ravens, the name of the caravan group that Laes leads, is victorious. Cordelia surrenders herself to the Ravens and, after some negotiation, is accepted as a member of Gilgamesh’s entourage and swears loyalty to him. They are also reunited with Elwin Tucker, the Rogue who had been taken prisoner by the Tides and the Church.
The Rogue is missing a hand and Gilgamesh, in an act of defiance against the people calling for Elwin’s death, restores his hand with magic. This makes Elwin swear loyalty to Gilgamesh.
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He also heals some people of the critically injured Ravens with his magic. It is a show of raw power that garners the respect of many of the caravan.
Gilgamesh attempts to revive a man dead man with Greater Heal. It fails and Gilgamesh is reminded of his mortality and gains new resolve to pursue his mission to achieve eternal life.
Gilgamesh receives a full plate harness as battle spoils and is gifted a Sword-Hammer from Khalam, the leader of the caravan guards, for saving the life of his son Ubaid. The Sword-hammer is a hybrid weapon which can be used as either a sword or hammer, depending on how it is held.
They are next invited to the wagon of Ankhset, the Water Mage of the caravan. After much discussion, she persuades Gilgamesh that Larynda should learn how to use Water magic as an alternative to the dangerous and unpredictable Chaos magic she already commands.
She gifts Larynda with a magical scroll that imparts upon her the first spell of Water and starts to instruct her in the mysteries of her element.
Later, they meet up with another caravan group, the Crows. Their leader, Gelgor, convinces Laes that they should travel together. Gilgamesh also, through Laes, purchases a self-cocking crossbow of excellent quality from the leader of the Crows.
They continue their journey, reaching the Rump, a group of low hills close to the desert of the Whispering Wastes, and the caravan sets up camp on high ground to take shelter from the Weeping.
The Weeping is a time of torrential rain in the Grass Sea. This rainfall is responsible for creating the Green Road, a river that runs perfectly straight, with neither bend nor turn, all the way to their destination, the city of Al-Lazar.
Ankhset casts a great shielding spell over the caravan, protecting them from the worst of the torrential deluge of rain. The caravan is forced to wait for a long time until the rains stop.
During this time, the people of the caravan spend their time in preparation for the next leg of the journey and festivities. During a dance, Gilgamesh is invited back to the wagon of a woman called Catalina and they start a relationship. She has lost her husband and is now a widow.
She is also a woman that he saved with his magic. She and her son Dumuzi are very thankful to Gilgamesh.
While waiting for the rains to end, Gilgamesh spends his time training. Cruelly, he uses Dumuzi, paying him a pittance to be a moving target for Gilgamesh to train his ranged skills. It even allows him to learn a new skill, Blind Fighting. Catalina is understandably shocked by this, but her current situation does not allow her to forbid it.
Gilgamesh is visited by dark dream that warns him of his mortality. Desperate he asks for information for legends or tales of people who were able to escape death from the people of the caravan. He learns from Cordelia that those blessed with the Grace can put off a natural death at the price of serving a Divine.
A horde of rodents ‘attack’ Gilgamesh and his companions in their wagon. These are Whispermews, six-legged mouse-like creatures that are fleeing the floods brought about by the heavy rain. Gilgamesh kills many of their number but saves a survivor as a gift for Larynda. Larynda names her new pet Bubbles.
Eventually the Weeping ends, and the caravan begins their journey along the Green Road into the desert of the Whispering Wastes. Fed by the rainwater of the Weeping, the area along the banks of the Green Road blooms in a riot of vegetation.
Initially, the journey is smooth until the caravan reaches an area inhabited by Sandgorgers, three-eyed frogs that inhabit the desert. Gilgamesh, along with his companions and guards, roam ahead of the caravan to dispatch these threats to the caravan.
While they are fighting the Sandgorgers, they are attacked by a Guardian, a giant worm of the deep desert. Gilgamesh is separated from his companions and dragged down in the worm's wake to a dark place beneath the sands.
There, he encounters and defeats undead skeletal warriors, their bones coated with ancient metals. Their undead forms remind him of his own eventual mortality. He is forced to brave the labyrinthian maze of underground tunnels and caves until he stumbles into the heart of the dark dungeon.
It is a long-forgotten temple dedicated to the fell goddess Iasis, the Mother of Monsters. There is is confronted by the goddess who thinks him a chosen of Avaria. She insinuates that her sister Avaria is withdrawing her Grace from him.
Now, he must face his next trial…