Battle had been joined and fought and won. The Pandion Knight Sparhawk had met the forces of the foul God Cyrgon upon the field of valor, and justice and might had carried the day. But even in Sparhawk's moment of triumph, a crushing blow had come. Far away from the battlefield, Cyrgon's hired minions had, by treachery and stealth, stolen away Sparhawk's very heart: they had kidnapped the beautiful Queen Ehlana, his wife.