Search Worlds Without End

Long ago, the gods forged Twelve Swords of Power and threw them on the gameboard of life to watch men scramble. But they forged too well; the Swords could kill the gods themselves.

Now, the gods are gone, the Swords are scattered, Wayfinder, the Sword of Wisdom, turns up in the hut of one Valdemar, a simple (or is he?) grower of grapes.

This strong yet gentle young giant is in want of a wife.

It is the property of Wayfinder to lead its wielder where the wielder wants to go -- thus Valdemar asks for guidance to the one who is most fit to share his life.

But the Sword of Wisdom leads him to the Lady Yambu -- a vigorous sixty-year-old, at least in appearance! Once known as the Silver Queen, the Lady Yambu is on a pilgrimage of her own, accompanied by Prince Zoltan, and has no desire to spend her declining years in a vineyard.

And yet Wayfinder will not let Valdemar leave the Lady . . .

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Blue Temple, where vast amounts of the world's wealth are stored, the evil macrowizard Wood and his gorgeous sidekick, Tigris, have an interview with the Chairman . . .

Doughty, aging Ben of Purkinje wakes in a barn to discover himself surrounded by hostile armed men . . .

In Sarykam, Prince Mark scans the dawn skies eagerly for a winged messenger: How is the hunt for Woundhealer, the sword of mercy, progressing? It is the only hope for the grievously injured Princess Kristin . . .

But Wayfinder has a way of complicating all quests in which it becomes involved . . .

Wallie Smith can feel the pain. He goes to the hospital and remembers the doctors and the commotion, but when he wakes up it all seems like a dream. However, if that was a dream, how do you explain waking up in another body and in another world? Little Wallie finds himself in the physique of a barbarian swordsman, accompanied by both an eccentric priest babbling about the Goddess and a voluptuous slave girl. Is this a rude awakening or a dream come true? What in the world will Wallie do now that he has found himself stranded in a strange realm? Well, it just so happens that the Goddess is in need of a swordsman. It will not be easy, but if he succeeds he will have everything he wants. If he does not, things could get ugly. Wallie is reluctant but sees his chance. If only he had the faintest clue as to the adventure he is about to unleash! If only he could imagine the forces that will be out to vanquish him!

Wallie Smith is staring death in the face; only a miracle can save him. And then one does! The Goddess appears to preserve his soul, but she does much more than that. She promises to bestow upon him a new and powerful body, and, more important, to endow him with the fabled Sapphire Sword of Chioxin. But nothing in this world or any other comes without a price. The Goddess demands that, for her services, Wallie become her champion. It will be an honor to serve such a presence, to have the chance to be victorious over all challengers. But Wallie and his sword quickly find themselves outmatched in a world of high-stakes magic. Even the Goddess's priests cannot offer any resistance to the invading sorcerers and their quest to conquer souls for the Fire God. Wallie will need to find in himself and in the world the powers that will save all mortals. He will need to find the Coming of Wisdom.

Wally Smith, having died on Earth, finds himself reincarnated as a swordsman in another world and entrusted by the presiding goddess with a mission that has no appeal for him at all. Can he bring together all the swordsmen to finally defeat the sorcerors and their terrible technology? Wally is not quite convinced he should, but goddesses can be very persuasive...

For fifteen years, the truce has held. Swordsmen of the Tryst of Casr have kept the peace and extended the rule of law over half the world, but now sorcerers have started killing swordsmen again, and swordsmen traitors are aiding them. Shonsu--who was Wallie Smith before he became a swordsman of the seventh rank and liege lord of the Tryst--must once more gird on the seventh sword of Chioxin, and this time he rides out to fight the war that he hoped would never come. As he leads his army forth, its two most junior members are Vixini, son of Shonsu, and Addis, son of Nnanji, who has an oath of vengeance to fulfill. Their failure or success will determine the fate of the world for the next thousand years.