Robert Priest

"On the spell-crossed Phaer Isle, teenage Xemion dreams of being a great swordsman. When he finds a blade-shaped stick, he fashions it to look like a real sword. Knowing that the laws of their cruel Pathan conquerors would require a death sentence for possession of such an object, his friend Saheli demands he destroy it. He agrees, but insists on performing just one sword ceremony. When his mastery of the weapon, a skill long forgotten, is witnessed...

When Captain Black the pirate loses his glass eye, a pauper finds it and creates a book from images of the captain's experiences that he sees within it, resulting in a change in both their lives.