Words Worth Gaiden

The art of swordplay is practiced by two groups: the Tribe of Light, composed of surface-dwelling humans, and the Tribe of Shadow, whose members are part-human, part-animal or monster, residing in an underground city and aging at half the rate of the Light tribe. A state of peace existed between them, maintained by the Words Worth tablet-a large monolith inscribed with unreadable text, placed by a guardian spirit. Following the tablet's unexplained destruction by an unknown force, its fragments were dispersed across the Shadow tribe's territory. Each tribe accused the other, initiating a century-long war. Astral, prince of the Shadow tribe, aspires to become a Swordsman of Shadow, a goal forbidden by his father, King Wortoshika. He is betrothed to Sharon, a skilled swordswoman who cares for him but desires greater strength in her fiancé.