In this classic fantasy novel from the late World Fantasy Award-winning author Patricia A. McKillip (The Forgotten Beasts of Eld), the human world and the realm of faerie dangerously intertwine through chaotic magic. Told in McKillip's stunning prose, The Book of Atrix Wolfe is the spellbinding legend of a reluctant mage, a powerful wizard, a beleaguered heir, fae royalty, and a nearly invisible scullery-maid. When the White Wolf descends upon the battlefield, the results are disastrous. His fateful decision to end a war with powerful magic changes the destiny of four kingdoms: warlike Kardeth, resilient Pelucir, idyllic Chaumenard, and the mysterious Elven realm. Twenty years later, Prince Talis, orphaned heir to Pelucir, is meant to be the savior of the realm. However, the prince is neither interested in ruling nor a particularly skilled mage. Further, he is obsessed with a corrupted spellbook, and he is haunted by visions from the woods. The legendary mage Atrix Wolfe has forsaken magic and the world of men. But the Queen of the Wood, whose fae lands overlap Pelucir's bloody battlefield, is calling Wolfe back. Her consort and her daughter have been missing since the siege, and if Wolfe cannot intervene, the Queen will keep a sacrifice for her own.