10, 000 B.c.

In 10,000 BC, a tribe of hunter-gatherers called the Yagahl live in a remote mountain range in the Urals and survive by killing woolly mammoths. D'Leh, a young hunter, has a companion named Evolet,an orphan who was found by the tribe. D'Leh, while hunting mammoths, manages to kill one and wins the "White Spear". He also wins Evolet in marriage, but feels he deserves neither since he killed themammoth by accident.

One day, D'Leh and several others are away when horse-raiders called the "Four Legged Demons" attack the Yaghal camp. The horse raiders enslave Evolet; D'Leh, Tic'Tic, KaRen,and Baku pursue them to save her. They enter a rainforest where they catch up with the raiding party. During the night D'Leh rescues Evolet, but as they are trying to escape from the pursuing raidersthey are attacked by a large pack of terror birds. Tic'Tic gets wounded and Baku and Ka'Ren and Evolet are re-captured. Continuing on, they meet others whose loved ones were taken by the raiders. D'Lehand Tic'Tic befriend Nakudu, leader of the Naku tribe. He tells D'Leh of a prophecy: whoever talks to a Smilodon that they call the "Spear-Tooth" will help free their people. D'Leh had earlier savedthe Spear-Tooth from drowning in a trap and it had spared his life. D'Leh realizes the prophecy was about him. Nakudu explains that his loved ones were taken in the "Great Red Birds", ships with largered sails, to the "Mountains of the Gods", from which no one has ever returned. They then come together with other tribes, who agree to form a coalition to pursue the raiders.

They find the shipswith red sails holding Evolet and Baku. They have no means to follow the ships, so they journey through a vast desert, discovering an advanced civilization similar to ancient Egypt, ruled by anenigmatic figure known as "The Almighty", who is said to be the last survivor of his kind. The Almighty, who is regarded as a living god, possesses many thousands of slaves that he is using to build a huge...