The stirring final book of the Averil trilogy finds the Taalian Alliance again threatened by evil. The sorcerer Malidon has captured the iron forges of Suther, stemming the flow of weapons to the rest of the world. Averil, now Aum's Chief Trader-Diplomat, knows of an ancient magical weapon that might be used to finally defeat Malidon- the Winged Spear of Iraz. But the spear is lost. Its custodian, the Beast of Dreyon, helped Averil once. Will it help her again? And what will happen in the final dramatic battle? Fourteen-year-old Averil has never been far from the small desert town of Aum. But all that is about to change. Chosen as a novice Trader-Diplomat on her first expedition, she finds a world full of surprises. But Evil is stirring, and Averil is drawn into a battle between malevolent powers that threatens to change the world forever. In a world of war and sorcery, Averil finds strengths and qualities she didn't know she possessed.