In this thrilling adventure by bestselling author Oliver Pötzsch, thirteen-year-old Lukas has been trained as a swordsman by his father, a nobleman who was once a famed Musketeer. When the threat of war and accusations of witchcraft spread across the land, Lukas’s life is forever changed. He flees his home and vows to find his missing sister. Surviving as an outcast, Lukas encounters thieves and mercenaries, a strange astrologer, and a master swordsman. He also meets three other fencers—Giovanni, Paulus, and Jerome. Each brings a special talent to their team that leads them to the Black Musketeers, the best fighters in the army. But living with the black-armored Musketeers is nothing like they imagined. In his quest to find his sister, Lukas learns of a legendary book that holds powerful magic. As he fights to keep the Book of the Night out of the hands of his greatest enemy, Lukas discovers the secrets of his own family and what it really means to be a Musketeer.

A harsh winter is coming. With it, a dark and pitiless magic… Lukas wants only two things: to rebuild his castle home in time to make it through the coming winter and to reconnect with the sister who was stolen from him in a plot against his family. But then an astrologer appears with foreboding news: his old adversary, Inquisitor Waldemar von Schönborn, has stolen three royal artifacts, which are required to coronate a new German emperor. With these valuable objects—the sword, the crown, and the scepter—he could blackmail the empire. The treasures are currently hidden in three different places in the old imperial city of Prague. To protect his homeland and help him find the artifacts, Lukas will need his three best friends—all members of the elite fighting group known as the Black Musketeers. He’ll also need his feisty little sister, Elsa, whose magical gifts may be the key to stopping the inquisitor’s latest scheme. They head for Prague immediately, but the adventure that awaits them there will put their courage and their friendship to the ultimate test.

1634 – der Krieg in Europa geht in sein 17. Jahr und der große Feldherr Wallenstein ist tot. Steckt der Inquisitor Waldemar von Schönborn hinter der seiner Ermordung? Will er den Krieg in die Länge ziehen, um seine eigenen Ziele verfolgen? Hofastrologe Senno ist überzeugt, dass es nur einen gibt, der den Inquisitor aufhalten Merlin. Lukas und seine Freunde machen sich auf die Suche nach dem sagenumwobenen Zauberer, doch sie haben nicht mit dem gerechnet, was sie finden. Störrisch, launisch und frech steht ihnen der große Magier im Körper eines Kindes gegenüber. Wie soll dieser trotzige Bengel ihnen helfen, Waldemars Pläne zu zerschlagen? Schafft es der Inquisitor am Ende doch noch, sich als wiederauferstandener Barbarossa als neuer Kaiser ausrufen zu lassen? Für die Freunde beginnt ein gefährlicher Wettlauf gegen die Zeit, der sie ins tiefe Herz des Reiches führt …