This is the story of Corlath, golden-eyed king of the Free Hillfolk, son of the sons of the Lady Aerin. And this is the story of Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl who became Harimad-sol, King's Rider, and heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan, that no woman had wielded since the Lady Aerin herself bore it into battle. And this is the song of the kelar of the Hillfolk, the magic of the blood, the weaver of destinies...

Aerin could not remember a time when she had not known the story; she had grown up knowing it. It was the story of her mother, the witchwoman who enspelled the king into marrying her, to get an heir that would rule Damar; and it was told that she turned her face to the wall and died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a son. Aerin was that daughter. But there was more of the story yet to be told; Aerin's destiny was greater than even she had dreamed—for she was to be the true hero who would wield the power of the Blue Sword...

1 Lily. She has the power to heal, but no speech - until a mage hears words from her mind. 2 Ruen. The princess was abandoned by her uncle deep in a cave to die at the hands of a stagman - who will surprise fate. 3 Erana. Given as a babe to a witch, raised beside the witch's troll son, she learns love comes in many forms. 4 Coral. The lovely newcomer consents to marry an older widower who soon wonders why she wants to live at Butter Hill Farm. 5 Annabelle. In the attic of their new house, the teen finds a knot that leads her on a magical mission.

It was on a ferry ride to Manhattan that the idea for this anthology was conceived: Sometimes the ground the characters of a story walk on is no more than that; but sometimes the landscape is a character in its own right. Nine writers, including James P. Blaylock, Peter Dickinson, Patricia A. McKillip, P C Hodgell and the editor, Robin McKinley, have written stories where the land is crucial to the tale: the armchair traveller will find the best of fantasy on this grand tour of imaginary lands. 1 • Paper Dragons • \[Land of Dreams\] • novelette by James P. Blaylock 23 • The Old Woman and the Storm • short story by Patricia A. McKillip 35 • The Big Rock Candy Mountain • novelette by Robert Westall 59 • Flight • novelette by Peter Dickinson 91 • Evian Steel • \[Merlin's Booke\] • novelette by Jane Yolen 125 • Stranger Blood • novelette by P. C. Hodgell 155 • The Curse of Igamor • short story by Michael de Larrabeiti 169 • Tam Lin • novelette by Joan D. Vinge 199 • The Stone Fey • novelette by Robin McKinley