War comes for an unprepared squire. Gareth Arban wants to become a knight and win glory enough to marry the girl he loves. But death is the other face of glory. When invaders sweep out of the north wielding mighty dark magic, it will take more than a squire’s bravery to stop them…

Combined for the first time in one volume are the first three books of the internationally bestselling DRAGONSKULL series - DRAGONSKULL: SWORD OF THE SQUIRE, DRAGONSKULL: SHIELD OF THE KNIGHT, and DRAGONSKULL: BLADE OF THE ELVES, along with the short story THE FIRST SORCERESS. War comes for an unprepared squire. Gareth Arban wants to become a knight and win glory enough to marry the girl he loves. But death is the other face of glory. When invaders sweep out of the north wielding mighty dark magic, it will take more than a squire’s bravery to stop them…

Dark magic hunts a young knight. Gareth Arban is now a knight of the Northerland, riding to escort his friend Prince Tywall to the High King's seat of Tarlion. But the spider priestesses who rule the Heptarchy have not forgotten their hatred towards Tywall and will stop at nothing to assassinate him. It will take all of Gareth's courage and skill to protect his friend. But what Gareth hasn't realized is that the dark power is coming for him...

A knight armed with sword & shield isn't prepared for a dagger in the back. Gareth Arban intends to return to Tarlion to marry the woman he loves. But dark forces seek the Dragonskull, the lost relic of power, and Gareth is the key to finding it. Unless Gareth watches his back, his death will be the first step on the path to the Dragonskull...

When the Royal Wizard of Westland poisons the king so that his puppet prince can take the throne and start a continental war, a young squire is forced to run for his life carrying the powerful sword that his dying monarch burdened him with from the death bed. Two brothers find a magic ring and start on paths to becoming the most powerful sort of enemies, while an evil young sorceress unwillingly falls in love with one of them when he agrees to help her steal a dragon's egg for her father. Her father just happens to be the Royal Wizard, and despite his daughter's feelings, he would love nothing more than to sacrifice the boy! All of these characters, along with the Wolf King of Wildermont, the Lion Lord of Westland, and a magical hawk named Talon, are on a collision course toward Willa the Witch Queen's palace in the distant kingdom of Highwander. There the very bedrock is formed of the powerful magical substance called Wardstone. Who are the heroes? And will they get there before the Royal Wizard and his evil hordes do? Whatever happens, the journey will be spectacular, and the confrontation will be cataclysmic.

The path of magic exacts a steep price. Niara has escaped from the city ruled by the brutal urdmordar Xothalaxiar, and now wanders the wilderness. But the magic awakened within her will not go back to sleep. For if Niara does not master its power, it will soon consume her...