Aaric is the son of Ivar Ingold, leader of the Olin Clan of the Viking people of the North. Aaric is an experienced archer and swordsman, but unlike the other Viking youth, he lacks the desire to kill another living thing, even an animal. His father describes him as more poet than warrior, and because of this, he has been passed over to participate in the Rite of Acceptance, the annual ritual when young Viking boys are initiated as Viking warriors and thereafter allowed to participate in their raids and adventures.

It is a troubling time for the people of the North, as clans invade and conquer each other for their lands and treasures. Aaric learns from an old sage living in the forest about the existence of a golden sword, once belonging to King Haldor, a famous and near mythical figure young Viking kids learn about in their sagas and bedtime stories. Legend has it that King Haldor disappeared while journeying alone to an island secluded among the floating ice to the north to defeat the last remaining dragon and the evil sorcerer who created him. The sage tells Aaric that whoever possesses the golden sword of Haldor, said to have been crafted in Valhalla, is the one true king of all the Viking clans.

While pondering the existence of the golden sword, and how his father could unite the clans in peace if he possessed it, Aaric discovers Kira, a young Celtic girl living among the animals of the forest after escaping a cruel clan leader's attempt to enslave her and her family, all but her perishing when their boats crashed into the rocks while the others were chained to the hull.

Aaric decides to steal a boat and attempt to sail to the secret island to retrieve the golden sword. Shortly after departing, he discovers Kira hiding in the boat, and the two of them continue on to the island. Once there, they quickly realize there is something different about the place. They meet a talking wolf; a flying bug man called a Mantuk; a giant tree man; and eventually a benevolent sorcerer named Namon who has lost his magic. The story is of their journey to retrieve the golden sword, which they discover is encased in solid crystal inside the volcanic lair of Valgaard, an evil sorcerer who endeavors to raise a new army of dragons from the black swamp, and with a dragon's fiery breath, free the golden sword from its crystal in order to possess it and its mythical power as he attempts to carry out his plan to conquer all the peoples of the world.

The "Golden Sword" is the story of two kids struggling for acceptance in a world that has been harsh on both of them, and how adversity draws them closer and allows them to discover the courage and greatness that is in both of them. It is a story of friendship, of service to one another, and of accepting each other as we are and not how others want us to be.