Merriman explains that they are not in Will’s time but hundreds of years in the past, which is why the surroundings look so different. Farmer Dawson gave Will the first sign, the sign of iron, and he now has to find the other five: the signs of bronze, wood, stone, fire and water.

Will is the last of the Old Ones and has been tasked with finding six magical signs that will help the Old Ones in the battle between Dark and Light. They explain that like them, he is an Old One, an immortal being that protects the world from being taken over by the forces of evil called the Dark. Will goes through it and enters a great hall. The white horse takes Will to a hill with a freestanding door that seemingly leads to nowhere. The white horse saves him, and the Walker runs away. When Will tries to get answers from the Walker, the Rider attacks. The old man from the day before is the Walker. A white horse allows Will to carry him, when Will asks, and Will instinctively knows that he must find someone called the Walker. Will narrowly escapes when the Rider tries to take him. Will meets a Rider, but refuses the Rider’s food and to sit on his black horse. Trees have replaced buildings, and roads are now only tracks. On his birthday, Will wakes up to find that his surroundings are different. He does not offer an explanation but gives Will an iron circle divided equally into four sections by a cross and tells him to keep it with him at all times. On the day before his birthday, an old man hides and watches him, and a neighbor, Farmer Dawson, warns Will about a man called the Walker and impending danger. Will Stanton, the youngest of 10 children, will celebrate his 11th birthday on Midwinter’s Day.

Susan cooper the dark is rising