When young Alec of Kerry is taken prisoner for a crime he didn't commit, he is certain that his life is at an end. But the one thing he never expected was his cellmate. Spy, rogue, thief, and noble, Seregil of Rhiminee is many things - none of them predictable. And when he offers to take...  more

When young Alec of Kerry is taken prisoner for a crime he didn't commit, he is certain that his life is at an end. But the one thing he never expected was his cellmate. Spy, rogue, thief, and noble, Seregil of Rhiminee is many things - none of them predictable. And when he offers to take Alec as his apprentice, things may never be the same for either of them. Soon Alec is traveling roads he never knew existed, toward a war he never suspected was brewing. Before long, he and Seregil are embroiled in a sinister plot that runs deeper than either can imagine, and that may cost them far ore than their lives if they fail. But fortune is as unpredictable as Alec's new mentor and this time there just might be LUCK IN THE SHADOWS.

Though Vanyel has been born with near-legendary abilites to work both Herald and Mage magic, he wants no part of such things. Nor does he seek a warrior's path, wishing instead to become a Bard. Yet such talent as his, if left untrained, may prove a menace not only to Vanyel by to others a well....  more

Though Vanyel has been born with near-legendary abilites to work both Herald and Mage magic, he wants no part of such things. Nor does he seek a warrior's path, wishing instead to become a Bard. Yet such talent as his, if left untrained, may prove a menace not only to Vanyel by to others a well. So he is sent to be fostered with his aunt, Savil, one of the most famed Herald-Mages of Valdemar. But strong willed and self centered, Vanyel is a challenge which even Savil can not master alone. For soon he will become the focus of frightening forces, lending his raw magic to a spell that unleashes terrifying wyr-hunters on the land. And by the time Savil seeks the assistance of a Shin'a'in Adept, Vanyel's wild talent may have already grown beyond anyone's ability to contain, placing Vanyel, Savil, and Valdemar itself in desperate peril.

A doorway between worlds opened, releasing Christa, her harp ? and her quest. Imprisoned for centuries, she had escaped from the faerie Sidh and the musician Orfide, weavers of spells and schemes. But the doorway had shut too quickly, leaving her lover behind in the endless captivity of a...  more

A doorway between worlds opened, releasing Christa, her harp ? and her quest. Imprisoned for centuries, she had escaped from the faerie Sidh and the musician Orfide, weavers of spells and schemes. But the doorway had shut too quickly, leaving her lover behind in the endless captivity of a timeless world. Now, in contemporary Denver, Christa discovers the way to her loved one's freedom ? stunning and powerful electric music that can break down the walls of time. So this Celtic maiden turns rocker, her harp transfigures into an electric guitar, and her newly formed band of heavy metal warriors, called Gossamer Axe, becomes her most effective weapon. Equipped to take on Sidh and Orfide, her dangerous odyssey through a rock world of evil drugs and sex begins - with Christa and her all-girl band on the ultimate road tour to faraway realms!

What length, will you go to -- for your honor and for the love of your wolf? In a harsh northern land, the towns of men huddle close around the walled keeps of their lords. Those keeps, in turn, look to the worfcarls -- men bonded to huge fighting wolves -- for their safety when the trolls...  more

What length, will you go to -- for your honor and for the love of your wolf? In a harsh northern land, the towns of men huddle close around the walled keeps of their lords. Those keeps, in turn, look to the worfcarls -- men bonded to huge fighting wolves -- for their safety when the trolls and their wyverns come down from the icy mountains to prey on manflesh. Isolfr is a young nobleman who is called to the wolf pack. His father is hostile to the wolfcarls and refuses to send his sons, but Isolfr is deeply drawn to the wolves. When the konigenwolf, Vigdis, comes to visit with her human brother Hrolleif, the you man chooses to disobey his father and answer her summons. "Rising fantasy stars Monette and Bear subvert the telepathic-animal-companion subgenre so thoroughly that it may never the the same...The meticulously crafted setting and powerful, often moving rendition of characters and relationships -- human and nonhuman alike -- result in a brutal and beautiful novel about the meaning of honor. Never blushing as they consider the ultimate sociological, sexual, and moral underpinnings of "what-if" often treat as coy wish-fulfillment fantasy, the authors have boldly created a fascinating world that begs further exploration" Publishers Weekly A Companion to Wolves is the story of a young nobleman, Isolfr, who is chosen to become a wolfcarl -- a warrior who is bonded to a fighting wolf. Isolfr is deeply drawn to the wolves, and though as his father's heir he can refuse the call, he chooses to go. The people of this wintry land depend on the wolfcarls to protect them from the threat of trolls and wyverns, though the supernatural creatures have not come in force for many years. Men are growing too confident. The wolfhealls are small, and the lords give them less respect than in former years. But the winter of Isolfr’s bonding, the trolls come down from the north in far greater numbers than before, and the holding’s complaisance gives way to terror in the dark. Isolfr, now bonded to a queen wolf, Viradechtis, must learn where his honor lies, and discover the lengths to which he will to go when it, and love for his wolf, drive him.

The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassed beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good... and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt. Phedre no Delaunay is a young woman who was born...  more

The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassed beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good... and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt. Phedre no Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission... and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one. Phedre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phedre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair... and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phedre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear. Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart -- a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.

To call the kigh was the height of bard's magic. Only those born with the gift could learn to Sing these spirits of earth, air, fire and water into doing their bidding, and even someone as gifted as the Princess Annice must spend years studying at the Bardic Hall to truly master the Art. And...  more

To call the kigh was the height of bard's magic. Only those born with the gift could learn to Sing these spirits of earth, air, fire and water into doing their bidding, and even someone as gifted as the Princess Annice must spend years studying at the Bardic Hall to truly master the Art. And for Annice, one of those rare talents able to Sing the elemental spirits from each of the four quarters, the call of magic was too strong to be denied, even if it meant renouncing her royal blood and privileges. But Annice might have made a different choice if she could have foreseen that ten years after she'd transferred her life and loyalties from the Royal Palace to the Bardic Hall, she'd find herself fleeing from the King's Guards. For Annice was twice guilty of treason, first for imperiling the order of succession by becoming pregnant, and second for aiding the father of her unborn child, the Duc of Ohrid, to escape the palace dungeons and the sentence of death hanging over his head. Now the fugitives' only hope lay in tracking down and bringing to justice the enemy who'd masterminded the Duc's downfall, a dangerous foe who had found a way to tie lies and truths together into a knot even the most powerful of Bardic spells could not unravel...

The classic forerunner to The Fall of the Kings now with three bonus stories.Hailed by critics as “a bravura performance” (Locus) and “witty, sharp-eyed, [and] full of interesting people” (Newsday), this classic melodrama of manners, filled with remarkable plot twists and...  more

The classic forerunner to The Fall of the Kings now with three bonus stories.Hailed by critics as “a bravura performance” (Locus) and “witty, sharp-eyed, [and] full of interesting people” (Newsday), this classic melodrama of manners, filled with remarkable plot twists and unexpected humor, takes fantasy to an unprecedented level of elegant writing and scintillating wit. Award-winning author Ellen Kushner has created a world of unforgettable characters whose political ambitions, passionate love affairs, and age-old rivalries collide with deadly results.SwordspointOn the treacherous streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword. Even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. Within this elite, dangerous world, Richard St. Vier is the undisputed master, as skilled as he is ruthless--until a death by the sword is met with outrage instead of awe, and the city discovers that the line between hero and villain can be altered in the blink of an eye.

This haunting, magical, wildly original novel explores the lives of several characters entwined by The Wizard of Oz -- both the novel written by L. Frank Baum and the iconic, strangely resonant 1939 film. It is the story of the "real" Dorothy Gale, an orphan living a hardscrabble...  more

This haunting, magical, wildly original novel explores the lives of several characters entwined by The Wizard of Oz -- both the novel written by L. Frank Baum and the iconic, strangely resonant 1939 film. It is the story of the "real" Dorothy Gale, an orphan living a hardscrabble life with abusive relatives on a Kansas frontier settlement, and of the kindly substitute teacher who decides to write the story of the life she ought to have had. Was is also the story of Judy Garland and her unhappy fame. It's about Jonathan, an actor now dying of AIDS, whose intense attachment to Oz dates back to his troubled childhood. And it's the story of Jonathan's therapist, whose work at an asylum also unwittingly intersects the path of the Yellow Brick Road. From the Great Plains to glittering Hollywood, Was traverses the American landscape to reveal the whirling funnel cloud at the core of our personal and cultural fantasies. It is a powerful, moving story about survival, and about the power of human imagination to transcend the bleakest circumstances. 

You probably live in a place not unlike Marakanda, or perhaps you could get there on horseback in a week or so. Marakanda is a university town, and it's because of the diligence of the folk history curators at the Marakanda Academie that you are holding this book in your hands. For the...  more

You probably live in a place not unlike Marakanda, or perhaps you could get there on horseback in a week or so. Marakanda is a university town, and it's because of the diligence of the folk history curators at the Marakanda Academie that you are holding this book in your hands. For the Academie is one of only three places in the world which keep the original account of the events related in this story. Of course the story is not about Marakanda, it's about Applekirk, a ways to the east from Marakanda. If it were about Marakanda there'd probably be a notice that no dragons were injured during the telling of this story. Marakanda is a regular place with regular people leading regular lives, not a place where the art of yeye is practiced in everyday life. Well, to be honest, no dragons were injured in Applekirk either, for the simple fact that there are no dragons in Applekirk. But farther east than Applekirk there are some very peculiar beings and who knows, they might be a little like dragons. But this story is not about those places farther east than Applekirk -- it is about Applekirk, the families of Applekirk Manor, a visiting Marakandan scholar seeking knowledge about the ancient Marisians who once lived in Applekirk, and one other, someone who left Applekirk years earlier after the Plague, went far east, and came back to tell about it. So be prepared for a story quite outside the realm of Marakandan experience. You never know but that you might find yourself on a caravan one day going East for an adventure of your own.

In the wake of her father’s death, Ash is left alone to pay off his debts in the service of her own step mother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, re-reading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal...  more

In the wake of her father’s death, Ash is left alone to pay off his debts in the service of her own step mother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, re-reading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she begins to believe that her wish may be granted. The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash’s capacity for love—and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love. Entrancing and romantic, Ash is an empowering retelling of Cinderella about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

Ancient grudges and ruthless schemes are simply business as usual to the Faerie court in Bear's complex and involving contemporary fantasy. Seeker, formerly Elaine Andraste, is a changeling bound to the Mebd, the queen of the Daoine Sidhe, to find other changelings and bring them to the Faerie...  more

Ancient grudges and ruthless schemes are simply business as usual to the Faerie court in Bear's complex and involving contemporary fantasy. Seeker, formerly Elaine Andraste, is a changeling bound to the Mebd, the queen of the Daoine Sidhe, to find other changelings and bring them to the Faerie court. There, like legendary Tam Lin, and Seeker's own son, Ian, they entertain the queen until she tires of them. Now the queen needs Seeker to find-and win the heart of-the new Merlin, latest incarnation of a being who, in the hands of the Prometheans, could be used to destroy the Fae. Pragmatic college professor Carel Bierce, the first female Merlin, is not easily swayed by Fae-or Promethean-advances. Long-forgotten rivalries and unsuspected blood ties arise to tug at Seeker's loyalties, even as the queen promises to free Ian when she succeeds.

Abigail Irene Garrett drinks too much. She makes scandalous liaisons with inappropriate men, and if in her youth she was a famous beauty, now she is both formidable and notorious! She is a forensic sorceress, and a dedicated officer of a Crown that does not deserve her loyalty. Sebastien de...  more

Abigail Irene Garrett drinks too much. She makes scandalous liaisons with inappropriate men, and if in her youth she was a famous beauty, now she is both formidable and notorious! She is a forensic sorceress, and a dedicated officer of a Crown that does not deserve her loyalty. Sebastien de Ulloa is the oldest creature she has ever known. He has forgotten his birth-name, his birth-place, and even the year in which he was born, if he ever knew it. But he still remembers the woman who made him immortal. In a world where the sun never sets on the British Empire, where Holland finally ceded New Amsterdam to the English only during the Napoleonic wars, and where the expansion of the American colonies was halted by the war magic of the Iroquois, they are exiles in the new world - and its only hope for justice!

Lythande was pledged by sword and spell to fight the forces of chaos. A Pilgrim Adept of the Blue Star, Lythande had mastered all the true magics of the world. But the power of an Adept was always bound to a Secret, and whoever discovered this sorcerer's Secret could steal away the blue Star...  more

Lythande was pledged by sword and spell to fight the forces of chaos. A Pilgrim Adept of the Blue Star, Lythande had mastered all the true magics of the world. But the power of an Adept was always bound to a Secret, and whoever discovered this sorcerer's Secret could steal away the blue Star power, leaving the Adept defenseless, fit only for death. And Lythande's secret was perhaps the most dangerous of all, setting the mage apart from all humanity, forcing Lythande to war against spell beast, sorcerer, thief, swordsman, and the magic of the gods themselves.

Blending archaeological fact and legend, the myths of the gods and the feats of heroes, Marion Zimmer Bradley breathes new life into the classic tale of the Trojan War-reinventing larger-than-life figures as living people engaged in a desperate struggle that dooms both the victors and the...  more

Blending archaeological fact and legend, the myths of the gods and the feats of heroes, Marion Zimmer Bradley breathes new life into the classic tale of the Trojan War-reinventing larger-than-life figures as living people engaged in a desperate struggle that dooms both the victors and the vanquished, their fate seen through the eyes of Kassandra-priestess, princess, and passionate woman with the spirit of a warrior.

A Master Storyteller Creates an Enduring Legend of His Own Over the centuries, the once stern rulers of Al-Rassan have been seduced by sensuous pleasures. Now King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, adding city after city to his realm, aided by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar...  more

A Master Storyteller Creates an Enduring Legend of His Own Over the centuries, the once stern rulers of Al-Rassan have been seduced by sensuous pleasures. Now King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, adding city after city to his realm, aided by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan--poet, diplomat, soldier--until a summer day of savage brutality changes their relationship forever. Meanwhile, in the north, the Jaddite's most celebrated--and feared--military leader, Rodrigo Belmonte, and Ammar meet. Sharing the interwoven fate of both men is Jehane, the beautiful, accomplished court physician, whose own skills play an increasing role as Al-Rassan is swept to the brink of holy war, and beyond.... In a magnificent setting, hauntingly evocative of medieval Spain, The Lions of Al-Rassan is both a brilliant adventure and a deeply moving story of love, divided loyalties, and what happens to men and women when hardening beliefs begin to remake--or destroy--a world.

Two different interweaving stories that mirror each other in theme and character study. The first story starts in 1689 England, where 15-year-old Eliza finds her 11 brothers turned into enchanted swans. Rejected by her father, Eliza is flown to America by her brothers. There, Eliza has a chance...  more

Two different interweaving stories that mirror each other in theme and character study. The first story starts in 1689 England, where 15-year-old Eliza finds her 11 brothers turned into enchanted swans. Rejected by her father, Eliza is flown to America by her brothers. There, Eliza has a chance of saving her brothers, until she is accused of witchcraft-and now must fight for her own life. In the second story, Elias, a young man living with AIDS in the 1980s, is also rejected by his family and must learn to live life on the streets. With his new companion Sean, Elias finally finds personal acceptance amid the ostracism of a scorning public. Like Eliza before him, Elias struggles to understand the needless suffering he must endure.

Melusine-a city of secrets and lies, pleasure and pain, magic and corruption--and destinies lost and found... A dashing and highly respected wizard, Felix Harrowdate thought he had eluded his dark past. Within the walls of the Mirador--Melusine's citadel of power and magic--Felix...  more

Melusine-a city of secrets and lies, pleasure and pain, magic and corruption--and destinies lost and found... A dashing and highly respected wizard, Felix Harrowdate thought he had eluded his dark past. Within the walls of the Mirador--Melusine's citadel of power and magic--Felix believed he was free of his abusive former master, a wizard who had enslaved him, body and soul, and trained him to pass as a nobleman. He was wrong. Raised as a kept-thief and trained as an assassin, Mildmay the Fox is used to being hunted. Having slipped his Keeper long ago, he survives as a cat burglar--until he's caught by a mysterious magician using a powerful calling charm. And yet the magician was looking not for Mildmay--but for Felix Harrowgate... Bound by fate, the broken wizard Felix and the wanted killer Mildmay will journey far from Melusine through lands thick with strange magics and terrible demons of darkness--but it is the secret from their pasts that will either save them or destroy them...

Ringil, the hero of the bloody slaughter at Gallows Gap is a legend to all who don't know him and a twisted degenerate to those that do. A veteran of the wars against the lizards he makes a living from telling credulous travellers of his exploits. Until one day he is pulled away from his life...  more

Ringil, the hero of the bloody slaughter at Gallows Gap is a legend to all who don't know him and a twisted degenerate to those that do. A veteran of the wars against the lizards he makes a living from telling credulous travellers of his exploits. Until one day he is pulled away from his life and into the depths of the Empire's slave trade. Where he will discover a secret infinitely more frightening than the trade in lives. Archeth - pragmatist, cynic and engineer, the last of her race - is called from her work at the whim of the most powerful man in the Empire and sent to its farthest reaches to investigate a demonic incursion against the Empire's borders. Egar Dragonbane, steppe-nomad, one-time fighter for the Empire finds himself entangled in a small-town battle between common sense and religious fervor. But out in the wider world there is something on the move far more alien than any of his tribe's petty gods. Anti-social, anti-heroic, and decidedly irritated, all three of them are about to be sent unwillingly forth into a vicious, vigorous and thoroughly unsuspecting fantasy world. Called upon by an Empire that owes them everything and gave them nothing.

Combining history, fairy tale, and period literary fashions, Sherman (the paperback Through a Brazen Mirror) offers a sprawling 18th-century epic that could be improved with some 20th-century editing. The narrator is the loyal no-nonsense Berthe Duvet, personal maid to the woman who becomes the...  more

Combining history, fairy tale, and period literary fashions, Sherman (the paperback Through a Brazen Mirror) offers a sprawling 18th-century epic that could be improved with some 20th-century editing. The narrator is the loyal no-nonsense Berthe Duvet, personal maid to the woman who becomes the Duchess of Malvoeux on her marriage to the duke of a beautiful duchy in the Jura Mountains of France. Like Camelot, the chateau of the duchy exists out of time: 200 years have passed since the French Revolution, a perilous time for the ducal family when the chateau was sacked and the lands destroyed, but a magic spell has since turned it into a "fairy kingdom" where every need is served by "creatures of magic," the weather never varies, and the Baroque palace is filled to the "rafters with a most sumptuous profusion of treasures." A certain Colette, whose short life played a decisive role in the fate of the Malvoeux family, suggests that Berthe write the history of the chateau. And this Berthe proceeds to do, beginning with her childhood in Paris, her service with the young duchess, and their move to this chateau filled with objects collected by a family driven by a passion to possess--a passion that has not escaped the current duke, who collects exotic birds. Meanwhile, French history is also moving at a fast clip, and Berthe adds at length her impressions of those stirring times. She soon learns that there's something dark in the family past. A beggar appears to remind the family of his curse--a curse to be removed only when a white porcelain bird is found. The search is joined, past crimes are finally revealed, the curse is lifted--only to be replaced with a more benign but no less confining enchantment. A dazzling display of period detail and a slew of authentic-seeming characters--but all disappointingly held in thrall to a narrative that lumbers on to a by-now-longed-for end. -- Kirkus Reviews

A novel based on Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt recounts this historic event through the eyes of Meriamon, daughter of the Pharaoh Nectanebo. By the author of Alamut.

In the Cities of Coin and Spice and In the Night Garden introduced readers to the unique and intoxicating imagination of Catherynne M. Valente. Now she weaves a lyrically erotic spell of a place where the grotesque and the beautiful reside and the passport to our most secret fantasies begins...  more

In the Cities of Coin and Spice and In the Night Garden introduced readers to the unique and intoxicating imagination of Catherynne M. Valente. Now she weaves a lyrically erotic spell of a place where the grotesque and the beautiful reside and the passport to our most secret fantasies begins with a stranger’s kiss.… Between life and death, dreaming and waking, at the train stop beyond the end of the world is the city of Palimpsest. To get there is a miracle, a mystery, a gift, and a curse -- a voyage permitted only to those who've always believed there's another world than the one that meets the eye. Those fated to make the passage are marked forever by a map of that wondrous city tattooed on their flesh after a single orgasmic night. To this kingdom of ghost trains, lion-priests, living kanji, and cream-filled canals come four travelers: Oleg, a New York locksmith; the beekeeper November; Ludovico, a binder of rare books; and a young Japanese woman named Sei. They've each lost something important  -- a wife, a lover, a sister, a direction in life -- and what they will find in Palimpsest is more than they could ever imagine.

A powerful retelling of Sleeping Beauty that is “heartbreaking and heartwarming.”An American Library Association “100 Best Books for Teens”An American Library Association “Best Books for Young Adults”Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by...  more

A powerful retelling of Sleeping Beauty that is “heartbreaking and heartwarming.”An American Library Association “100 Best Books for Teens”An American Library Association “Best Books for Young Adults”Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by her grandmother Gemma’s stories about Briar Rose. But a promise Rebecca makes to her dying grandmother will lead her on a remarkable journey to uncover the truth of Gemma’s astonishing claim: I am Briar Rose. A journey that will lead her to unspeakable brutality and horror. But also to redemption and hope.

Sarah Beauhall has more on her plate than most twenty-somethings: day job as a blacksmith, night job as a props manager for low-budget movies, and her free time is spent fighting in a medieval re-enactment group. The lead actor breaks Sarah's favorite one-of-a-kind sword, and to avoid...  more

Sarah Beauhall has more on her plate than most twenty-somethings: day job as a blacksmith, night job as a props manager for low-budget movies, and her free time is spent fighting in a medieval re-enactment group. The lead actor breaks Sarah's favorite one-of-a-kind sword, and to avoid reshooting scenes, Sarah agrees to repair the blade. One of the extras, who claims to be a dwarf, offers to help. And that's when things start to get weird. Could the sword really be magic, as the dwarf claims? Are dragons really living among us as shapeshifters? And as if things weren't surreal enough, Sarah's girlfriend Katie breaks out the dreaded phrase... I love you. As her life begins to fall apart, first her relationship with Katie, then her job at the movie studio, and finally her blacksmithing career, Sarah hits rock bottom. It is at this moment, when she has lost everything she has prized, that one of the dragons makes their move. And suddenly what was unthinkable becomes all too real... and Sarah will have to decide if she can reject what is safe and become the heroine who is needed to save her world.