Rory was given a great gift, the Mystical Hagpipe made from the right-hand tusk of the first Haggis giving him extraordinary powers and also the ability to travel through time. But unfortunately, he had lost it and was therefore unable to find his creature friends 'Nessie' (Loch Ness Monster), 'Hag' his Pet Haggis and 'Ben' the Great Scottish Eagle or even call on them for aid. His father was trapped in the past enslaved by Vikings. Rory had met St Columba the author of the Book of St Columba which predicted Rory's life history and it gave him instructions on how he could save his father. This task was impossible without the Hagpipe's power which he needed to make any attempt to rescue his father but first he has to remake the Magical Sword. The Grant Spey-Wife had told him that he would have eight years of hardship if he lost the Hagpipe so how was he going to get it back, remake the Sword and save his father?

Rory MacSween has the ability to command the mythical highland creatures of Scotland and to open the time travelling portals located on the ley lines due to his possession of the magical Hagpipe. Hag the Haggis, Ben, the great Scottish Eagle and Nessie (The Loch Ness Monster) were his friends with whom he could mentally communicate. They could travel with him through the natural ancient portals to any time and place where they connected. He had already called on them to save his Father from the Vikings. In the process Rory reunite him with his Mother saving her from dying with his untested healing power. Now he was being ordained by St Columba to save the world by recovering the 'Grail Box', a direct link to God, from impending capture by evil forces intent on its destruction. The grail box was the resting place of every holy relic including the grail cup and death shroud of Jesus along with the ten commandments and all the original complete religious scriptures and text which could reunite or destroy mankind. This unearthly box could only be touched by the mythical pure one! The great evil, embodied in human form, was out to destroy it and remake the world into a hungry place of hate, without love or compassion. It had a plan to make Rory despair, and to crush all that he loved. Hag, Ben and Nessie had aided Rory in the past, but could even their awesome power help him this time? The ultimate confrontation between good and evil was imminent. Rory might have to fight this battle alone as he also tried to save his twin daughters who are lost in time. The fate of the whole human race and that of his little girls rested in his hands. This third adult book in the series concludes the story started in 'The Secrets of Urquhart Castle' and 'The Rescue', as Rory begins his most important adventure to date as he travels to the dawn of Christianity and the creation of the secret societies out to possess the infinite power of the Grail Box. Can he square the circle in time and defeat evil itself as he travels to 'Circle's End'?

List of members in each vol.

The clan Gillean

Is the Earth the right model and the only universal key to understand habitability, the origin and maintenance of life? Are we able to detect life elsewhere in the universe by the existing techniques and by the upcoming space missions? This book tries to give answers by focusing on environmental properties, which are playing a major role in influencing planetary surfaces or the interior of planets and satellites. The book gives insights into the nature of planets or satellites and their potential to harbor life. Different scientific disciplines are searching for the clues to classify planetary bodies as a habitable object and what kind of instruments and what kind of space exploration missions are necessary to detect life. Results from model calculations, field studies and from laboratory studies in planetary simulation facilities will help to elucidate if some of the planets and satellites in our solar system as well as in extra-solar systems are potentially habitable for life.

³There was little danger of encountering the Bennet sisters ever again.² Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice is beloved by millions, but little is revealed in the book about the mysterious and handsome hero, Mr. Darcy. And so the question has long remained: Who is Fitzwilliam Darcy? Pamela Aidan's trilogy finally answers that long-standing question, creating a rich parallel story that follows Darcy as he meets and falls in love with Elizabeth Bennet. Duty and Desire, the second book in the trilogy, covers the "silent time" of Austen's novel, revealing Darcy's private struggle to overcome his attraction to Elizabeth while fulfilling his roles as landlord, master, brother, and friend. When Darcy pays a visit to an old classmate in Oxford in an attempt to shake Elizabeth from his mind, he is set upon by husband-hunting society ladies and ne'er-do-well friends from his university days, all with designs on him -- some for good and some for ill. He and his sartorial genius of a valet, Fletcher, must match wits with them all, but especially with the curious Lady Sylvanie. Irresistibly authentic and entertaining, Duty and Desire remains true to the spirit and events of Pride and Prejudice while incorporating fascinating new characters, and is sure to dazzle Austen fans and newcomers alike.

The Bruces of fourteenth-century Scotland were formidable and enthusiastic warriors. Whilst much has been written about events as they happened in Scotland during the chaotic years of the first part of the fourteenth century, England's war with Robert the Bruce profoundly affected the whole of the British Isles. Scottish raiders struck deep into the heartlands of Yorkshire and Lancashire; Robert's younger brother, Edward Bruce, was proclaimed King of Ireland and came close to subduing the country; the Isle of Man was captured and a Welsh sea-port was raided; and in the North Sea Scots allied with German and Flemish pirates to cripple England's vital wool trade and disrupt its war effort. Packed with detail and written with a strong and involving narrative thread, this is the first book to link up the various theatres of war and discuss the effect of the wars of the Bruces outside Scotland.