AustLit

'Isabeau the Foundling, discovered as a babe in the roots of a tree, is raised by an old wood witch in the shadow of Dragonclaw, mountain of the dragons. From Meghan of the Beasts, Isabeau learns herb-lore and the languages of animals, but dreams of the old days, when witches were the greatest power in the land. Before she was born, an evil sorceress cast a spell on the Rìgh, winning his love and turning him against the Coven. The great Witch Towers are now all abandoned ruins, magical creatures are hunted down and the Coven's ancient wisdom is lost. Only the Cripple, enigmatic leader of the rebels, fights to undermine the Banrìgh's power as her dark plans slowly come to fruition. Little does Isabeau know that she is to play a key role in the battle against the Ensorcellor, for she has a strange and mysterious destiny.

As Isabeau is initiated into the Coven on her sixteenth birthday, soldiers sent to hunt down dragons stumble across the clandestine ceremony, and her peaceful life is torn apart by blood and fire. Alone she must set out on a perilous quest that will bring her face to face with her own destiny. For Meghan must go and confront the dragons and, afraid she will never return, entrusts the sacred Key of the Coven to Isabeau, who must carry it to safety. Without the Key, the witches can never release the Lodestar, a sphere of great power that was locked away on the Day of Betrayal. Meanwhile, the sea-dwelling Fairgean stir, children vanish in the night, and the dragons - the most ancient and dangerous wisdom in the land - rise against the Ensorcellor.'

Source: Author's website kateforsyth.com.au (Sighted 14/04/2010)

'After her adventures with the League of the Healing Hand, Finn the Cat finds life at Castle Rurach boring. Snowbound for the winter and faced with the prospect of being molded into 'Lady Fionnghal' by her mother, she pines to be on the battlefront with her father against the sea demons...But Finn's talents are needed elsewhere. Summoned by the Righ, Lachlan the Winged, she must embark on a perilous journey to the Forbidden land to rescue a rebellious prophet whose words can free a land enshrouded in darkness.'

Source: back cover (Arrow).

'The Fathomless Caves deals with the final confrontation with the Fairgean. Before his death, the blind prophet Jorge had foreseen the conjuring of a tidal wave by the sea-dwelling Fairgean, the people of Eileanan's bitterest enemies. Driven by ancient hatreds, the Fairgean have called upon dreadful powers to aid them in their quest to totally annihilate all those that dwell upon the land. As the time of the comet draws ever closer, Lachlan and Iseult try desperately to avert the terrible fate the seer had prophesied, testing their strength and love to the utmost. Meanwhile, Isabeau must travel a dark and dangerous road to fulfil her own destiny. On her journey she must prove herself worthy of both the scar of the Soul-Sage and the ring of the sorceress. Facing old enemies and new, the most difficult challenge of all will be conquering the ghosts of her past. For if Isabeau is to heal the land, she first must find the way to healing her own troubled spirit.'

Source: Author's website. www.kateforsyth.com.au (Sighted 15/4/10)