This is a tale of a country massing its resources - armies, mages, magical beasts and healers; envoys and diplomats crossing borders to meet the unknown - for the war from the east. But on the western horizon, the true storm, one that hearkens from displaced time, is building. And how to deal with what are but the first cold flurries lies deep in the corrosive memories of a very scared young man...Mercedes Lackey's giant US success derives from an irresistible format: characters facing great trials, and in search of peace with themselves; a rich fantasy history of many chapters, and a place one can yearn to escape to; tales of adventure, magic, war and heroism that unfold across the breadth of a multi-book series as well as across individual novels. Mercedes Lackey already possesses a devoted following in the UK...