The Holders series are several short stories about 538 objects which, if brought together, will cause the The End of the World as We Know It. There were originally 2538 objects, but 2000 of them were lost. Each object is protected by a Holder, who presents a series of trials to anyone who seeks its object. Failing on any of these trials, no matter how insignificant your failure was, earns you a Fate Worse Than Death.