This paperback edition is reprinted from Mary Stewart's Merlin triology, published by William Morrow and Company in 1980.
Includes bibliographical references (page 472).
Keeping watch over the young Arthur Pendragon as he grows, the prince and prophet Merlin Ambrosius is haunted by a vision of a magical sword -- the fabled sword Caliburn, hidden for centuries. Sheathed in fire and stone, water and ice, the sword of the Emperor Maximus is destined to reveal the true High King. When Uther Pendragon is killed in battle, the time of destiny is at hand, and Arthur must claim the sword from a perilous chapel to claim his destiny and become the true High King of Britain.