The prospect of a Caribbean cruise sounds relaxing to Maelduin/Merlin. He is, after all, still recovering from the effects of his encounter with the lamia in the spirit world, and that is but the most recent of his adventures since he was enlisted by the Lady of the Lake to take part in her own radically revised version of the Arthurian legend (a female King Arthur?). It does not take long for the action to heat up, however, hardly a surprise since he is accompanied by that lively crew of young mischief-makers who call themselves the Fighting Maelduins. And then comes the summons. Since she met him on the River of Life, Elise has been searching for Lohengrin, Maelduin's foster son, and she has reached him at last. She is eager to join his family as another foster child, but her own family is unwilling to let her go. They have other plans for her. But Maelduin's friends relish a challenge (Boar Clan included), and since the dragons and dragonflies are involved, their plan is unnecessarily (but predictably) complicated: the collection of various gifts to break the geis laid on Elise to compel obedience to her great-uncle's will. Thus begins a series of quests to assemble the items required: the Star of Eisywed for her cloak pin, the Firestone of Rhyddarch and the Ice Ring of Gofannon for her hand, and the Crown of Bright Pearls for her head. None will be easy to gain, especially the Crown, which is held by the Formorians, but Maelduin's friends would not have it any other way. They have old scores to settle. And of course they are only too happy to join him in pursuing distractions along the way, since Elise is not the only one out there (wherever out there is) in need of rescue. It all seems a bit much to Maelduin, but as his son Owein observes, we should welcome the opportunity for "ingenious trickery, high adventure, and heart-pounding action, right friends? However long, life is too short to waste on dull stuff. I expect even the gifts were glad to be released after languishing closed away for so long, unused and neglected. What's the point of having abilities if you don't use them?" And they will need them all, for Elise is no ordinary child. Like Lohengrin, she is a spirit-world being with many talents, one of which is shape-shifting, and such are not easily to win. She is the Swan Maiden.
About the Author: A retired professor of English literature with extensive scholarly publications on Arthurian literature, both medieval and modern, Raymond Thompson has grown impatient for the appearance of the next great Arthurian novel and decided to write it himself. His Striking Hawk series may not be it, but he hopes people will enjoy reading it as much as he enjoyed playing with the legend and reconfiguring it to a new context. He lives in Canada.