The prologue introduces the legend of the Red King, a powerful African magician known for his scarlet cloak and burning sun emblem. The king’s 10 children inherited fragments of his magical abilities, but, after the death of his wife, five became evil, while the other five fled. The heartbroken Red King disappeared into the forests with his three loyal leopards. His magical powers continued to manifest in his descendants, individuals called the “endowed.”

A fire rages at Bloor’s Academy.

At home the next day, Charlie Bone opens an envelope he expects to hold a photo of his friend Benjamin’s dog, Runner Bean. Instead, he finds a picture of a man holding a baby. To his shock, he hears a man’s and woman’s voices from the photo, discussing the baby. Charlie’s paternal grandmother, Grandma Bone, becomes interested and asks if her previously ordinary grandson may have inherited the powers of her family, the Yewbeams, after all.

When Benjamin comes over and takes Charlie to help him walk Runner Bean, Charlie hears more voices from a photograph in a discarded newspaper: Manfred Bloor, the Head Boy at Bloor’s Academy, talking about the fire.