Britain, recovering from its destruction by the Romans, needs a new king and queen. The destined ones are King Gadifer's grandson Gallafur and Alexandre, ‘the Maiden of the Dragons’. They are descendants not only of Perceforest and Gadifer but of Alexander, too, and their bloodline is to continue to one who will draw a sword that Gallafur has imbedded in a great stone: King Arthur himself. Arthur will thus have Greek blood, inherited from Alexander the Great. But, although the Maiden of the Dragons has captured Gallafur's heart, he is told that he will not be worthy of her – he will not even learn her name – unless he first achieves the Adventure of the Red Sword: he must carry the sword through the forest with its colour unchanged. This is destined to be accomplished by one of King Gadifer's line; but it is the test of true lovers, and three of Gallafur's kinsmen, Utran, Nero and Gadiforus, all fail in turn as each succumbs to the temptations of the alluring sisters Corsora, Canones and Carhaus: they consequently find the Red Sword turning black in their hands. Now it is Gallafur's turn. The test begins with the unhooking of the red sword from a pillar.