Caspar and Hal have found the runes of war that will keep the Valakan horde at bay until spring - by then, they must have recovered the power of the Mother Goddess. Accompanied by Keridwen the Maiden they seek a cauldron lodged in the male preserve of the cathedral in Farona.

It had all began with the theft of the Orb that had so long protected the West from the evil God Torak. Before that, Garion had been a simple farm boy. Afterward, he discovered that his aunt was really the Sorceress Polgara and his grandfather was Belgarath, the Eternal Man. Then, on the long quest to recover the Orb, Garion found to his dismay that he, too, was a sorcerer. Now, at last, the Orb was regained and the quest was nearing its end. Of course, the questors still had to escape from...

Auskiere, wizard of wind and water, bound the Mharg-demons with the aid of Ivan, master of fire and earth. But at the moment of his greatest peril Ivan is betrayed and he swears a terrible oath against his betrayer - an oath so powerful that it begins a relentless "cycle of fire".

Spurred on by the priestesses of the false goddess Alshandra, the Horsekin hordes are massing on the northern border of Prince Dar's holdings. Their leaders believe that the rich grasslands of the prince's domain belong to them by divine right, no matter whom they must destroy to claim them. But Dar has powerful allies on his side, including the dragon Arzosah, who has hated the Horsekin for hundreds of years. She will vow to take a revenge worse than anything the Horsekin and their...