For eight centuries Elric's Silver Hammer has been buried in his barrow with him-a terrible fate for a sentinent weapon. Is it any wonder that it has got a little crazy after all those years?

Emma Verney is the black sheep of the rich and noble Verney family because of her strange liking of the Orc tribes of the wastelands.Such a liking may well have got her into deep trouble with the Orcs and her fellow humans alike.

It is said that this sacred sword can move fire and earth to defend it's wearer, but the truth is uncertain.Some say it's powers must surely be only myth, others that it is the most dangerous weapon in the Kingdom.

Strawberry Fields would be nothing more then a swamp if it were not fore those who raised it through the sweat of their brows.

Whilst they are not the leading predators that they used to be, a bite from them is still to be avoided.

Tower Isle gets it's name from the tower of gleaming ice that climbs high above the surface.In the summer it gleams in the sunlight and can be seen for miles away.But even in the summer the tempreture never climbs above -5 degrees, and in the winter it is not a place where most people would want to be.Myths say that a king slumbers there waiting for the world to end.

Many who have landed upon this island's golden sands have never escaped alive, hence it's name.Only fools, it is said, will attempt to take the island's gold.

Not all the beasts that threaten humans are large.There are those who despite watching out for dragons, bears, giant spiders and the like, have underestimated this downright nasty little ant and paid for it with their lives.

Queen Amber of Vallermoore was distressed by the number of amputations that were nescessary to deal with the crimewave after she came to power. So she ordered her wizards to come up with something to make amputation reversable, whilst retaining some value as a punishment.And so the Avenger was made.

When in towns or near human habitation, be careful what you use your swords on, for that large sluglike Velvet Worm you might be facing could well be someone's beloved family pet.

Here are the thirty Rangers of the Bushland National Park-the good the bad, the clean and the dirty.

To the vulture, the body of the lion down below seemed to be a tasty morsel. It appeared to be slightly swolen with the beginnings of decay, but that was to be expected. He dived down, landed beside it, and bit deeply inside it.And the body exploded, showering him with entrails, blood, and a strange dust.

He preened himself to get as clean as possible, ate his fill and flew off. And an hour later he fell dead to the ground, and his body began to swell with the spores and fibres of the Corpse's Revenge.

Most knights at least pretend to be on the side of Good and to defend the weak. Not so those of the Order of Rightous Victory-they are openly on the side of Evil and make no bones about it.At least, that is what they say to outsiders, but the truth is not quite as clear-cut as that.

And if you win you get this glowing fiddle made of gold, but if you lose, the Devil gets your soul.

Those who want to use this should be very careful indeed.

Ma-O was a major God once, or so it is said,and whilst most of his worshippers ceased to worship him after his fall from grace, a very few remain, and can and do cause trouble out of all proportion to their numbers...

Once Ma-O was a god in his own right, now he is the most reviled of all Infernal Beings, held responsible for so much of the death and destruction that happens on Acqua...

The Flowing Death is one of the most feared monsters in all of Vallermoore's rivers and ocean, not because of the numbers of people it has killed directly, but because of the semi-starvation it's visits bring, and because it cannot be seen until it attacks it's prey.

The Polar Horror is one of the most feared predators of the Northern Polar Icefields, because of it's speed and because it has no fear whatsover of Man...

In her sane days before her daughter's tragic death, Queen Yocasta was very interested in securing justice is criminal cases.It was one thing to throw the people who she saw as threats to her rule into prison without trial, but the prisons would be crammed to bursting if she did the same to alleged criminals.So she looked for a solution to stop people lying in court.

On the surface, Sir Edmund Verney is a very good man, deeply loved by most citizens of Karnivhal. He is a war hero, knighted on the battlefield,a curer of diseases, and one of those who purged the country of evil mages. However, he himself has a deeply hidden secret life, that he wants very much to keep hidden by any means nesscessary...