Bradley, Marion Zimmer

A collection of twenty-six short fantasy stories.

Margaret, heir to the Alton Domain, is marked with a mysterious power symbol that even the sages don't understand. To make matters worse, she is at the center of a political struggle, forbidden to marry her true love Mikhail, regent to the Elhalyn Domain. When the lovers are drawn to an ancient Tower, they are sent back through time, awaited by a dread Keeper, who sends them on a perilous quest.

Young Corin Leynier of Darkover, whose special powers of consciousness have just begun to develop, realizes that something evil has been implanted in his mind during his training by the powerful but mysterious man who saved his people--but he has lost the power to speak of it.

Eilan, a British princess known to the Romans as Helena, banished from Avalon for indulging in a forbidden love, grows to be a wise woman who finds herself in the unique position, as mother of the Emperor Constantine, of having to find a way to bridge the gap between the pagan world of the Goddess and the new Christian empire her son created.

Tiriki, a Guardian of the Light, has grown up in the shadow of Atlantis. She knows she is gifted and when separated from her husband she must find her own way. Damisa has inherited royal blood but in Atlantis she was only an acolyte. In a new land she could become a queen.

In Avalon, the time before King Arthur was the time of three women who altered the fortunes of Roman Britain by reclaiming the magic and traditions of their land. Caillean, a young priestess, rescued and raised an orphaned Gawen. Dierna used wisdom and love to guide Avalon and veiled the island from a hostile world. Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, prepared Avalon for the coming of a legendary king.