They called him unfit to rule, a lowborn, callow boy, Uther’s bastard. But his coming had been foretold in the songs of the bard Taliesin. And he had learned powerful secrets at the knee of the mystical sage Merlin.

In order to bring about the Summer Kingdom—the reign of peace and prosperity foreseen by Taliesin—Arthur must first unite the petty British kings under his banner as High King and Pendragon of the Island of the Mighty. A period of intense warfare and considerable treachery follows with Arthur narrowly prevailing, greatly aided by Merlin’s guidance and counsel. But that is only the beginning . . .

Wave upon wave of barbarian troops, traitorously assisted by some of the defeated British kings, batter Arthur’s depleted forces. Once again, following an epic struggle against terrible odds, the High King prevails. Peace reigns, the Summer Kingdom flowers, but only for a season.

Soon Arthur will face his greatest test—a deadly trap set by the sorceress Morgian with his beloved Queen Gwenhwyvar as the bait . . .

PREQUEL TO THE BEST-SELLING PENDRAGON CYCLE

Aurelia:

Last witness of an elder time, handmaid of the age to come.

It was a time of the end of empire. The world was in turmoil. The Romans were abandoning Britain, leaving the remaining servants of empire to try to stem the tide of chaos. Aurelia was one such, the child of a Magistrate, and wife of a Legate. The entire world was changing around her. How could she raise her sons to thrive in such a world?

Everywhere, it seemed, the old, well-ordered realm she had been born into was passing away to be replaced by . . . what?

It was that question her sons, Aurelius and Uthur—with the help of Merlin—were born to answer.

Merlin, like his father, the Bard Taliesin, has a great mission. But his is the more difficult. Where Taliesin imagined the Kingdom of Summer in song, it falls to Merlin to bring it into existence.

Through a series of grave trials that tax his spirit and nearly destroy his body and mind, Merlin discovers how to bring the Kingdom of Summer into being.

What’s more, Merlin is being readied for his life’s work: to prepare the coming of the Pendragon, Britain's great ruler, Lord of the Summer Kingdom, and Lion of Logres.