Alaeryn Emlu'rathian is an elf of color who abandons his own tribe. After cutting off his braids and fleeing to the world of West Men, Alaeryn assimilates into the militaristic culture that is Valhaven's paladin order. However, Alaeryn soon uncovers the inherent corruption of this brutal system and the social injustices which have surrounded him from the beginning. During this social awakening, Alaeryn experiences a journey of painful self-discovery. Alongside a varied crew of men, elves, halfling, and dwarves, Alaeryn realizes that he is blessed with a monstrous gift from the dragon gods, but it is a gift that he must earn, that he must walk through the forging fires of identity to receive, and that he must wield to right world's wrongs. Will Alaeryn cast off his self-doubt, his racial shame, his ignorance, and his false humility in order to seize what is rightfully his? Will he topple the corrupt government which he has grown conditioned to love? The Reaching is a bildungsroman of epic proportions. It weaves the timeless traditions of yesterday's epic storytelling with the sometimes abrasively vivid language of today to tell a tale of heritage, of bravery, of sexual awakening, and of the fierce reforging of a man's life in his own hands.