In a fairy tale land, living puppets jostle for control of the kingdom after a monarch's death. Old emperor Hebelon commits suicide so son Hal can ascend to the throne. But Hal's scheming uncle Nezo and his henchman tell Hal his father has been killed by the Zeriths, nomadic warriors who had their homeland usurped by the denizens of Hebelon, in order to send him on a suicide mission to avenge his dad, leaving Nezo clear to take the throne. All the while, the timber-and-stone race acknowledge the ropes leading out of their bodies into infinity and carve their children out of wood.