Chosen of the One, the first book in a seven-book series, focuses on the damaging of the heroes by Gar, the consequences to them, and their ability to fulfill their quest. Gar, with the help of a servant, steals a powerful magical artifact, and the two of them travel across time and space to alter the minds of those who will be chosen by the One to end Gar's dominion.

The chosen come from all the orders of good: one from the kortexi order, a holy warrior for the One, named Blakstar, violated by servants of Gar and marked with the symbol of evil upon his chest; another from the white maghi order, wielders of elemental forces, called Thal, the symbol of Gar woven into the patterns of his mind; he and Blakstar are sent to Shigmar, home of the green kailum, practitioners of healing arts, to meet the third chosen, a kailu named Klaybear, who has the potential of becoming the most powerful kailu, marked by Gar himself, as Klaybear goes to the order's sacred glade to receive his vision, a vision that is corrupted by his marking with the symbol of evil.

Once the other chosen gather in Shigmar, Klaybear is tried for bearing the symbol of evil, and during the trial, all the chosen present are shown to bear Gar's symbol; these are condemned to die but are rescued from the school dungeon by a thief named Tevvy. As they sneak through the sewers beneath the city, they discover a refuge. They find mental compulsions on two of their number and sever the links, but the severing of these strings causes the minds to which they were attached to unravel. One is simple and easy to repair, while the other mind begins to unravel, and Klaybear cannot repair the damage quickly enough to save his wife. Other mental hands come to his aid, and all present hear the voice of the One, giving them instructions and helping to repair the unraveling mind.