Search Worlds Without End

The first anthology of short stories set on Darkover, spanning Darkovan history--from shortly after the arrival of the lost Terran ship, through the Ages of Chaos, the rise of the Comyn and the establishment of the Compact, and the eventual return the Terrans.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: A Word from the Creator of Darkover - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Vai Dom - (1978) - short story by Diana L. Paxson
• The Forest - short story by Cynthia McQuillin
• There Is Always an Alternative - short story by Patricia Matthews [as by Patricia Mathews]
• The Tale of Durraman's Donkey - (1978) - short story by Eileen Ledbetter
• The Fires of Her Vengeance - short story by Susan Shwartz [as by Susan M. Shwartz]
• The Alton Gift - novelette by Elisabeth Waters
• Circle of Light - short story by Kathleen S. Williams
• The Answer - short story by Jacqueline Lichtenberg and Jean Lorrah
• The Rescue - (1978) - novelette by Linda MacKendrick
• The Keeper's Price - (1978) - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Elisabeth Waters [as by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Lisa Waters]
• The Hawk-Master's Son - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• A Simple Dream - (1978) - short story by Penny Ziegler
• Una Paloma Blanca - short story by Patricia Matthews [as by Patricia Mathews]
• Blood Will Tell - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Ambassador to Corresanti - short story by Linda Frankel
• A View from the Reconstruction: or, Happy Times on Modern Darkover - short story by Paula Crunk

This second anthology features tories by Bradley and other authors explain myths of the planet Darkover and fill in gaps in its history.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (Sword of Chaos) - (1982) - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• After Landfall - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• A Gift of Love - short story by Diana L. Paxson
• The Cycles of Legend - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Dark Lady - short story by Jane Brae-Bedell
• A Legend of the Hellers - short story by Terry Tafoya
• In the Hundred Kingdoms - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• In the Throat of the Dragon - novelette by Susan Shwartz
• Wind-Music - short story by Mary Frances Zambreno
• Escape - short story by Leslie Williams
• Rebirth - short story by Elisabeth Waters
• A Sword of Chaos - novelette by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Between the Ages - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Di Catenas - short story by Adrienne Martine-Barnes
• Of Two Minds - short story by Susan Hansen
• Through Fire and Frost - short story by Dorothy J. Heydt
• In the Days of the Comyn - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• The Way of a Wolf - short story by Lynne Holdom
• Cold Hall - (1982) - short story by Aly Parsons
• The Lesson of the Inn - (1978) - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Confidence - short story by Phillip Wayne
• The Empire and Beyond - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Camilla - short story by Patricia Matthews [as by Patricia Mathews]
• Where the Heart Is - short story by Millea Kenin
• Skeptic - short story by Lynn Mims
• A Recipe for Failure - short story by Millea Kenin

Return with Marion Zimmer Bradley and the Friends of Darkover to the planet of the Bloody Sun, the world of Darkover, there powerful families gifted with rare mental powers of 'laran' rule the land, where Terran technology is seen as the greatest evil, and survival often depends on a steady sword and quickness of wits. Here dwell the Free Amazons, who have set themselves apart from their male-ruled world, owing loyalty only to each other, living their lives as free citizens, equal to any man or woman, soldier or lord. the eighteen tales in the collection, including two by Marion Zimmer Bradley herself, tell the story of these Free Amazons, and are certain to enchant anyone who has fallen under the spell of the amazon heroines of Thendara House and City of Sorcery.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: About Amazons (Free Amazons of Darkover) - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• The Oath of the Free Amazons - (1979) - essay by Walter Breen
• The Legend of Lady Bruna - (1979) - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Cast Off Your Chains - short story by Margaret Silvestri
• The Banshee - (1980) - short story by Sherry Kramer
• On the Trail - short story by Barbara M. Armistead
• To Open a Door - short story by P. Alexandra Riggs
• The Meeting - (1980) - short story by Nina Boal
• The Mother Quest - novelette by Diana L. Paxson
• Child of the Heart - short story by Elisabeth Waters
• Midwife - short story by Deborah J. Ross [as by Deborah Wheeler]
• Recruits - short story by Maureen Shannon
• A Different Kind of Courage - short story by Mercedes Lackey
• Knives - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Tactics - short story by Jane M. H. Bigelow
• This One Time - short story by Joan Marie Verba
• Her Own Blood - short story by Margaret L. Carter
• The Camel's Nose - short story by Susan Holtzer
• Girls Will Be Girls - short story by Patricia Shaw Mathews [as by Patricia Shaw-Mathews]
• Growing Pains - short story by Susan Shwartz
• Oath of the Free Amazons: Terran, Techno Period - essay by Jaida n'ha Sandra (variant of Oath of the Free Amazons: Terra, Techno Period)

An anthology of five tales about the planet Darkover focuses on a turbulent era in which the people of the Seven Domains are caught between their traditions and great mind powers, and the lure of the technological world of the Terran colonists.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (The Other Side of the Mirror) - (1987) - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• The Other Side of the Mirror - (1987) - short fiction by Patricia Floss
• Bride Price - (1987) - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Everything but Freedom - (1987) - novella by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Oathbreaker - (1987) - novelette by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Blood Hunt - (1987) - short fiction by Paula Crunk and Linda Frankel

Spanning generations of Darkover history, this collection of stories journeys into the heart of Darkover power, from the ancient chieri, to the alliance of Ariada Aillard, to Regis Hastur's struggle to bridge the gap between Terrans and the people of Darkover.

Table of Contents:

• And Introducing... - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• A Different Kind of Victory - novelette by Diana L. Paxson [as by Diana Paxson]
• The Ballad of Hastur and Cassilda - poem by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Flight - short story by Nina Boal
• Salt - short story by Diann Partridge
• The Wasteland - short story by Deborah J. Ross [as by Deborah Wheeler]
• A Cell Opens - novelette by Joe Wilcox
• The Sum of the Parts - novelette by Dorothy J. Heydt [as by Dorothy Heydt]
• Devil's Advocate - short story by Patricia Anne Buard
• Kihar - novelette by Vera Nazarian
• Playfellow - short story by Elisabeth Waters
• Different Path - novelette by Penny Buchanan
• The Shadow - (1984) - novelette by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Coils - short story by Patricia Shaw Mathews
• The Promise - novelette by Mary Fenoglio
• The Dare - short story by Marny Whiteaker

Features a memorable group of tales set in the land of Darkover, a place where ancient powers have awakened humans to their own hidden talents

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (Four Moons of Darkover) - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• The Jackal - novelette by Vera Nazarian
• Death's Scepter - short story by Joan Marie Verba [as by Joan Verba]
• A King's Ransom - short story by Kay Morgan Douglas
• Man of Impulse - novelette by Marion Zimmer Bradley (variant of A Man of Impulse 1993)
• Swarm Song - short story by Roxana Pierson
• Out of Ashes - short story by Patricia B. Cirone [as by Pat Cirone
• My Father's Son - short story by Meg Mac Donald
• House Rules - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• To Challenge Fate - novelette by Sandra Morrese
• The Devourer Within - short story by Margaret L. Carter [as by Margaret Carter]
• Sin Catenas - short story by Elisabeth Waters
• Circles - novelette by Glenn R. Sixbury [as by G. R. Sixbury]
• Festival Night - short story by Dorothy J. Heydt
• A Laughing Matter - short story by Rachel Walker
• Mourning - short story by Audrey Fulton
• The Death of Brendon Ensolare - novelette by Deborah J. Ross [as by Deborah Wheeler]
• Sort of Chaos - short story by Millea Kenin

In the continued exploration of the planet Darkover, an Aldaran assassin plies her trade, Leonie Hastur follows a matrix of sword and firm, and the laran-gifted are caught up in a maelstrom of madness

• Introduction: And Contrariwise - (1990) - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Acurrhir Todo; Nada Perdonad: A Tale of the Hundred Kingdoms - (1990) - short story by Deborah J. Ross [as by Deborah Wheeler]
• An Object Lesson - (1990) - short story by Mercedes Lackey
• Beginnings - (1990) - short story by Cynthia Drolet
• Clingfire - (1990) - short story by Patricia Duffy Novak
• Death in Thendara - (1990) - short story by Dorothy J. Heydt
• Firetrap - (1990) - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Elisabeth Waters
• Friends - (1990) - short story by Judith Kobylecky [as by Judith K. Kobylecky]
• Manchild - (1990) - short story by L. D. Woeltjen
• Just a Touch... - (1990) - short story by Lynne Armstrong-Jones
• Mind-eater - (1990) - short story by Joan Marie Verba
• Mists - (1990) - short story by Meg Mac Donald
• Our Little Rabbit - (1990) - short story by Mary K. Frey
• The Gift From Ardais - (1990) - short story by Barbara A. Denz [as by Barbara Denz]
• The Horse Race - (1990) - short story by Diann Partridge
• The Plague - (1990) - short story by Janet R. Rhodes
• The Tapestry - (1990) - short story by Micole Sudberg
• To Serve Kihar - (1990) - short story by Judith Sampson

The eighth Darkover anthology returns to stories about the Free Amazons, also called Renunciates.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (Renunciates of Darkover) - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Strife - short story by Chel Avery
• Amazon Fragment (excerpt from the first draft of Thendara House) - short fiction by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Broken Vows - short story by Annette Rodriguez
• If Only Banshees Could See - novelette by Janet R. Rhodes
• A Midsummer Night's Gift - short story by Deborah J. Ross [as by Deborah Wheeler]
• The Honor of the Guild - short story by Joan Marie Verba
• A Butterfly Season - short story by Diana L. Paxson
• Misjudged Situations - short story by Kelly B. Jaggers
• Awakening - novelette by Mary Fenoglio
• Carlina's Calling - short story by Patricia Duffy Novak [as by Patricia D. Novak]
• A Beginning - short story by Judith Kobylecky
• Set a Thief - short story by Mercedes Lackey
• Shut-in - short story by Jean Lamb
• Danila's Song - short story by Vera Nazarian
• A Proper Escort - short story by Elisabeth Waters
• The Lesson in the Foothills - short story by Lynne Armstrong-Jones
• Summer Fair - short story by Emily Alward
• Varzil's Avengers - short story by Diann Partridge [as by Diann S. Partridge]
• To Touch a Comyn - novelette by Andrew Rey
• About Time - short story by Patricia B. Cirone
• Family Visit - short story by Margaret L. Carter
• Dalereuth Guild House - short story by Priscilla W. Armstrong

A collection of tales set on Darkover, the world of the Bloody Sun, ranging from the creation of the Comyn Council to a Terran's first encounter with laran.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (Leroni of Darkover) - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Building - short story by Lynn Michals
• The Ferment - (1991) - short story by Janet R. Rhodes [as by Janet Rhodes]
• Wings - short story by Diana Gill
• The Rebels - novelette by Deborah J. Mays
• A Dance for Darkover - short story by Vera Nazarian and Diana Perry
• There Is Always Someone - short story by Jacquie Groom
• Reunion - short story by Lawrence Schimel
• A Way Through the Fog - short story by Patricia B. Cirone [as by Patricia Cirone]
• The Gods' Gift - novelette by Mary K. Frey
• The Speaking Touch - short story by Margaret L. Carter [as by Margaret Carter]
• The Bargain - short story by Chel Avery
• The Witch of the Kilghard Hills - short story by Aimee Kratts
• The Gift - short story by Lynne Armstrong-Jones
• Invitation to Chaos - novelette by Joan Marie Verba
• The Keeper's Peace - short story by Patricia Duffy Novak
• Food for the Worms - short story by Roxana Pierson
• Childish Pranks - short story by Diann Partridge
• Cherilly's Law - short story by Janni Lee Simner
• Avarra's Children - novelette by Dorothy J. Heydt
• The Tower at New Skye - novelette by Priscilla W. Armstrong
• Homecoming - short story by Lana Young
• A Meeting of Minds - short fiction by Elisabeth Waters

An anthology of stories set in the world of the Bloody Sun examines the those gifted with laran--the ability to communicate telepathically with birds and beasts.

Table of Contents:

• Editorial (Towers of Darkover) - (1993) - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Love of the Banshee - (1993) - short story by Lynne Armstrong-Jones
• The Wind Man - (1993) - novelette by Dorothy J. Heydt
• Shelter - (1993) - short story by Nina Boal
• Carmen's Flight - (1993) - short story by Leslie Roy Carter and Margaret L. Carter [as by Leslie R. Carter and Margaret L. Carter]
• Ten Minutes or So - (1993) - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Victory's Cost - (1993) - novelette by Patricia B. Cirone
• Kefan McIlroy Is Snared - (1993) - short story by Aletha Biedermann-Wiens
• Rosa the Washerwoman - (1993) - short story by Mary Ellen Fletcher
• Like a Moth to the Flame - (1993) - novelette by Emily Alward
• A Change of View - (1993) - short story by Judith Kobylecky
• Choices - (1993) - short story by Lynn Michals
• A Lesser Life - (1993) - novelette by Patricia Duffy Novak
• Summer Storms - (1993) - novelette by Glenn R. Sixbury [as by Glenn Sixbury]
• Conscience - (1993) - short story by Alexandra Sarris
• Shame - (1993) - short story by Charley Pearson
• The Frontier - (1993) - novelette by Diana L. Paxson
• The Aillard Anomaly - (1993) - short story by Diann Partridge
• Destined for the Tower - (1993) - short story by Deborah J. Ross and Elisabeth Waters [as by Elisabeth Waters and Deborah Wheeler]
• The Madwoman of the Kilghard Hills - (1993) - short story by Joan Marie Verba
• I'm a Big Cat Now - (1993) - short story by David R. Heydt

This collection of stories, including two never-before-published tales, travels through the history of Darkover, the planet of the Bloody Sun, from the Founding to the time of Recontact.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction - (1993) - essay
• Free Amazons - (1993) - essay
• To Keep the Oath - (1979) - novelette
• Amazon Fragment (excerpt from the first draft of Thendara House) - (1991) - short fiction
• House Rules - (1988) - short story
• Knives - (1985) - short story
• Hilary - (1993) - essay
• Firetrap - (1990) - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Elisabeth Waters
• The Keeper's Price - (1978) - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Elisabeth Waters
• The Lesson of the Inn - (1978) - short story
• Hilary's Homecoming - (1993) - short story
• Hilary's Wedding - (1993) - novelette
• Rohana - (1993) - essay
• Everything but Freedom - (1987) - novella
• Dyan Ardais - (1993) - essay
• Oathbreaker - (1987) - novelette
• The Hawk-Master's Son - (1980) - short story
• A Man of Impulse - (1993) - novelette
• The Shadow - (1984) - novelette

Noted authors--such as Mercedes Lackey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Diana Paxson, and others--return to Darkover, the planet of the Bloody Sun where a wall of ice separates man from the snowy wasteland.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (Snows of Darkover) - (1994) - essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• The Yearbride - (1994) - short story by Lee Martindale
• Cradle of Lies - (1994) - short story by Deborah J. Ross [as by Deborah Wheeler]
• Power - (1994) - short story by Lynne Armstrong-Jones
• Upholding Tradition - (1994) - short story by Chel Avery
• The Place Between - (1994) - novelette by Diana L. Paxson
• Kadarin Tears - (1994) - novelette by Patricia Duffy Novak
• The Awakening - (1994) - short story by Roxana Pierson
• Safe Passage - (1994) - short story by Joan Marie Verba
• Garron's Gift - (1994) - novelette by Janet R. Rhodes
• The Chieri's Godchild - (1994) - short story by Cynthia McQuillin
• Fire in the Hellers - (1994) - short story by Patricia Shaw Mathews
• A Matter of Perception - (1994) - short story by Lena Gore
• Poetic License - (1994) - short story by Mercedes Lackey
• The Midwinter's Gifts - (1994) - novelette by Jane Edgeworth
• The MacAran Legacy - (1994) - short story by Toni Berry
• The Word of a Hastur - (1994) - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Matrix Blue - (1994) - short story by C. Frances
• Shards - (1994) - short story by Nina Boal
• Briana's Birthright - (1994) - short story by Suzanne Hawkins Burke
• In the Eye of the Beholder - (1994) - short story by Linda Anfuso
• Transformation - (1994) - short story by Alexandra Sarris
• Amends - (1994) - short story by Glenn R. Sixbury
• A Capella - (1994) - short story by Elisabeth Waters

The first new Darkover anthology in almost two decades, this volume focuses on the music of Darkover: stories with musical elements; the songs in the books; and the filk songs inspired by them

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (Music of Darkover) - essay by Elisabeth Waters
• The Horsetamer's Daughter - poem by Leslie Fish
• Tower of Horses - novella by Leslie Fish
• Right to Choose - short fiction by India Edghill
• All Who Breathe are Chained - short fiction by Rosemary Edghill
• Danila's Song - (1991) - short story by Vera Nazarian
• Darkover through the Flowinglass - short fiction by Margaret Davis
• Introduction: Traditional Darkovan Music - essay by Elisabeth Waters
• Seagull of the Land-Under-Waves - poem by uncredited
• Caristiona - poem by uncredited
• Fairy's Love Song (Tha mi sgith) - poem by uncredited
• The Mull Fisher's Love Song (O Mhairead Og!) - poem by uncredited
• The Coolin of Rum (Am Fuar Bheinn)^?
  - poem by uncredited
• Introduction: Songs by Marion Zimmer Bradley - essay by Elisabeth Waters
• The Ballad of Hastur & Cassilda - poem by Marion Zimmer Bradley (variant of The Ballad of Hastur and Cassilda 1987)
• The Outlaw - poem by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Introduction: Darkovan Filk Songs - essay by Elisabeth Waters
• Lament of a Comyn Keeper - (1978) - poem by Cynthia McQuillin
• The Chieri - poem by Cynthia McQuillin
• Exile - (1978) - poem by Cynthia McQuillin
• Lament of a Drytown Bride - poem by Cynthia McQuillin
• Chains - poem by Cynthia McQuillin
• Bridal lament - poem by Cynthia McQuillin
• Darkover Wedding Song - poem by Cynthia McQuillin
• Golden Bell - poem by Cynthia McQuillin
• The Starstone and the Mirror Ball - short fiction by Raul S. Reyes
• The Music of the Spheres - short fiction by Michael Spence
• Poetic License - (1994) - short story by Mercedes Lackey
• A Capella - (1994) - short story by Elisabeth Waters
• A Song for Capella - poem by Elisabeth Waters

Generations of fans have fallen in love with Darkover, and many of them have gone on to notable literary careers of their own. Now editors Deborah J. Ross and Elisabeth Waters have gathered together luminaries of fantasy in this star-studded anthology of original stories that illuminate Darkover's rich history and culture. From the Ages of Chaos to re-contact with the Terrans, from the Dry Towns to the back streets of Thendara to the horse pastures of Armida, these tales offer action, courage, and humor, set in the wondrous world that is Darkover.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (Stars of Darkover) - essay by Deborah J. Ross
• All The Branching Paths - short fiction by Janni Lee Simner
• The Cold Blue Light - short fiction by Judith Tarr
• Kira Ann - short fiction by Steven Piziks [as by Steven Harper]
• Threads - short fiction by Ann Sharp and Elisabeth Waters
• Wedding Embroidery - short fiction by Shariann Lewitt
• The Ridenow Nightmare - short fiction by Robin Wayne Bailey
• Catalyst - short fiction by Gabrielle Harbowy
• The Fountain's Choice - short fiction by Rachel Manija Brown
• House of Fifteen Widows - short fiction by Kari Sperring
• Zandru's Gift - short fiction by Vera Nazarian
• Late Rising Fire - short fiction by Leslie Fish
• Evanda's Mirror - short fiction by Diana L. Paxson
• At the Crossroads - short fiction by Barb Caffrey
• Second Contact - short fiction by Rosemary Edghill and Rebecca Fox
• A Few Words for My Successor - short fiction by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover remains one of the longest-running and best-loved series of all time, one that has touched the hearts and fired the imaginations of generations of readers. Now Darkover comes alive as never before in the hands of talented authors, many of whom found inspiration for their own careers in the world of the Bloody Sun. On a wondrous planet of telepaths and swordsmen, non-humans and ancient mysteries, a technologically advanced, star-faring civilization comes into inevitable conflict with one that has pursued psychic gifts and turned away from weapons of mass destruction.

Darkover offers many gifts, asked for and unexpected. Those who come here, ignorant of what they will find, discover gifts outside themselves and within themselves. The door to Darkover's magic swings both ways, however, and many a visitor leaves the people he encounters equally transformed.

This anthology includes stories by Robin Wayne Bailey, Jane M. H. Bigelow, Barb Caffrey, Margaret L. Carter, Rosemary Edghill & Rebecca Fox, Jeremy Erman, Leslie Fish, Shariann Lewitt, Deborah Millitello, Ty Nolan, Diana L. Paxson, and Marella Sands.

Marion Zimmer Bradley's beloved world of Darkover encompasses many realms, from glacier-shrouded mountains to arid wastelands, from ancient kingdoms to space-faring empires. Now this all-new anthology welcomes old friends and new fans to explore these landscapes of time and place, history and imagination. Darkover's psychic gifts known as laran bestow the ability to reach across the stars, meld with another's mind, and experience past and possible futures. These talents are not limited to Darkover's human inhabitants, for the planet is also home to nonhuman races, many with powerful mental abilities of their own. In these stories, a swordsman on the track of an assassin forges a telepathic bond with a great owl... a shapeshifter from Earth discovers kinship with a Darkovan catman... a boy from the desert Dry Towns displays a deadly form of weather-control... rescuers make their way across blizzard-cloaked mountains, afoot or on skis... and an intrepid young woman challenges the male establishment in her dream of becoming a judge.

Robin Wayne Bailey + Jane M. H. Bigelow + Barb Caffrey + Margaret L. Carter & Leslie Roy Carter + Rosemary Edghill & Rebecca Fox+ Leslie Fish + Shariann Lewitt + Deborah Millitello + Ty Nolan + Diana L. Paxson + Marella Sands + Michael Spence

Orbiting a distant red sun, the planet Darkover was settled long ago by human colonists and then cut off from the rest of civilization. Over millennia of isolation, it gave rise to a rich culture ruled by a telepathic aristocracy, but was also home to nonhuman races, both hostile and friendly. As kingdoms rose and fell, the enhanced psychic gifts called laran, channeled through starstone gems, transformed not only individual lives, but the entire world.

In the spirit of a masqued revel, here is a gala presentation of tales set in Marion Zimmer Bradley's beloved world of the Bloody Sun. Some of these stories are humorous, others dark, some gritty, and others whimsical or romantic, but all reflect the richness and breadth of adventures to be found on Darkover.

This volume includes stories by Robin Wayne Bailey, Jane M. H. Bigelow, Evey Brett, Leslie Roy Carter and Margaret L. Carter, India Edghill, Rosemary Edghill, Rebecca Fox, Steven Harper, Shariann Lewitt, Meg Mac Donald, Ty Nolan, and Marella Sands.

Darkover's position on the galactic arm renders it strategically important, a crossroads in space. It's also a place where cultures meet and clash, where strangers encounter one another, and where lives are forever transformed. Whether the tale features a literal branching of the road, a fateful decision, a twist of fate, or a life-changing realization, the theme of "crossroads" echoes through these pages. Here assumptions are challenged, dangers braved, and hidden truths revealed. Add a touch of Darkover's special romance, a bit of humor here and there, and the result is a thrilling journey, no matter which road you follow.

This volume includes stories by Robin Wayne Bailey, Jane M. H. Bigelow, Evey Brett, Rosemary & India Edghill, Leslie Fish, Rebecca Fox, Gabrielle Harbowy, Shariann Lewitt, Pat MacEwen, Deborah Millitello, Diana L. Paxson, Jenna Rhodes, Robin Rowland & Deborah J. Ross, and Marella Sands.

Strongholds of rock... fortresses of the spirit... a planet set apart... A castle high in snow-covered mountains beneath a ruddy sun, a place at once romantic and bleak, alien and richly nostalgic... a heart besieged and then re-awakened... secrets locked away by stone and spell... the last refuge of desperate folk... Towers where laran-Gifted circles work their magic... and Darkover itself, a world apart, yet under repeated assault by those who would exploit its natural resources, including its unique telepathic Gifts...

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (Citadels of Darkover) - essay by Deborah J. Ross
• Dancing Lessons - novelette by Traci Castleberry [as by Evey Brett]
• Sacrifice - novelette by Steven Piziks [as by Steven Harper]
• Banshee Cry - short story by Marella Sands
• The Katana Matrix - novelette by Lillian Csernica
• Siege - short story by Diana L. Paxson
• Sea-Castle - novelette by Leslie Fish
• Fire Storm - short story by Jane M. H. Bigelow
• The Dragon Hunter - short story by Robin Rowland
• Fish Nor Fowl - novelette by Rebecca Fox
• Dark As Dawn - short story by Robin Wayne Bailey
• Citadel of Fear - short story by Barb Caffrey
• The Judgment of Widows - short story by Shariann Lewitt