Lady of the Trillium

Since the time she and her sisters, Anigel and Kadiya, unified the kingdoms of Ruwenda and Labornok, Haramis--the White Lady--has lived several lifetimes as Archimage and Guardian of a land now abloom with the once rare, mystical Black Trillium. But high in the Tower of Orogastus, the evil sorcerer of technology she once defeated, Haramis is plagued by disturbing dreams that drive her to seek a successor.

Far away, in the Citadel of Ruwenda, the Princess Mikayla, hardly more than a child, knows nothing of her kinship with Haramis or the magical destiny that awaits her. She is a creature of reason--bright and skeptical--totally oblivious to the latent mystical powers she will soon be called upon to develop.

Mikayla's headstrong curiousity leads her, with her cousin, the fatherless young Lord Fiolon of Var, deep into the swampy Greenmire on a journey in search of relics from the past. But in a turn of events that becomes a pattern for the future, the harmless adventure becomes a perious voyage. It is Haramis who comes to the rescue. And now, in the White Lady's mountain retreat, Mikayla finds herself a priviliged--if reluctant--captive. For fate demands that she abandon her dream of marriage to the sensitive and gifted Fiolon and dedicate her self to the magic arts and awesome calling of an Archimage.

But the challenges ahead are more difficult than either Haramis or Mikayla imagines. The aging Archimage's abilities are tested: by her charge, her failing health, and a threat to the balance of power in the land. And soon Haramis will find that selecting, training, and installing her successor may be the most difficult fight she's ever had to face.

In Lady of the Trillium, Marion Zimmer Bradley has woven a passionate and unforgettable tale of magic, mystery, and love set against one of the most fully realized and vividly detailed universes in contemporary fantasy. It is a book you will not want to miss.