Pedino, a courageous pawn-squire in Bellogard, the kingdom of light, was superbly skilled in the magic of diagonal combat and fiercely loyal to his king. His forbidden passion for the woman-warrior Sara, a squire in the dark land of Chorny, could only lead to shame and death. For the two kingdoms had been locked, since time began, in a merciless war waged according to the strict rules of chess.