The extraordinary beginning of an epic series brimming with the unbridled action, adventure, and imagination that have made the name R. A. Salvatore synonymous with the best in fantasy! Jeff "Del" DelGuidice was proud of his assignment to the research submarine The Unicorn. But his mission had barely begun when the vessel was sucked into a mysterious underseas void where time stood still, before propelling it forward, through the centuries. The crew surfaced in a strange, magical world changed forever by nuclear holocaust. Here a race of angelic beings had taken pity on the remnants of humankind, offering a chosen few a precious second chance. Thus the Isle of Hope was raised from the poisoned seas and set like a jewel in Earth's ravaged crown. But the jewel had a flaw, a dark vein of evil. For a sinister expert of the mystical arts had embraced the forbidden third magic, the most deadly sorcery of all. Only Del could defeat it--a hero sworn to peace and fated to wield the dazzling power of the fourth magic. . . The extraordinary beginning of an epic series brimming with the unbridled action, adventure, and imagination that have made the name R. A. Salvatore synonymous with the best in fantasy! Jeff "Del" DelGuidice was proud of his assignment to the research submarine The Unicorn. But his mission had barely begun when the vessel was sucked into a mysterious underseas void where time stood still, before propelling it forward, through the centuries. The crew surfaced in a strange, magical world changed forever by nuclear holocaust. Here a race of angelic beings had taken pity on the remnants of humankind, offering a chosen few a precious second chance. Thus the Isle of Hope was raised from the poisoned seas and set like a jewel in Earth's ravaged crown. But the jewel had a flaw, a dark vein of evil. For a sinister expert of the mystical arts had embraced the forbidden third magic, the most deadly sorcery of all. Only Del could defeat it--a hero sworn to peace and fated to wield the dazzling power of the fourth magic. . . The extraordinary beginning of an epic series brimming with the unbridled action, adventure, and imagination that have made the name R.A. Salvatore synonymous with the best in fantasy! Jeff "Del" DelGuidice was proud of his assignment to the research submarine The Unicorn. But his mission had barely begun when the vessel was sucked into a mysterious undersea void. Propelled forward through time itself, the crew surfaced in a strange, magical world changed forever by nuclear holocaust. Here a race of angelic beings had taken pity on the remnants of humankind, offering a chosen few a precious second chance. Thus the Isle of Hope was raised from the poisoned seas and set like a jewel in Earth's ravaged crown. But the jewel had a flaw, a dark vein of evil. For a sinister expert of the mystical arts had embraced the forbidden third magic, the most deadly sorcery of all. Only Del could defeat it -- a hero sworn to peace and fated to wield the dazzling power of the fourth magic... R. A. Salvatore was born in Massachusetts in 1959. His first published novel was The Crystal Shard. He has since published more than a dozen novels, including The Demon Spirit, The Demon Awakens, The Halfling's Gem, Sojourn, The Legacy, and Starless Night. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Diane, and their three children. ECHOES OF THE FOURTH MAGIC Chapter One: The Passage of the Unicorn The Unicorn ran deep, ran smooth, gliding with the ease of an eagle on wing. But no hunter this; she was a ship of peace, the pride of the National Undersea Exploration Team, NUSET, pelagic counterpart of NASA, and the one, soon after the turn of the second millennium, to garner more of the government funding. The disaster at the space station, with seven astronauts dead, a shuttle and the multibillion dollar station lost, had curtailed NASA's budget tremendously and dampened the nation's taste for space exploration. But scientists had found it easier to sell the public on exploration of the seas, the last great unexplored expanse on the planet. Particularly after yet another disastrous El Niño year, with the warm Pacific water brewing a long series of disastrous storms sweeping across the continental United States; public opinion rang out favorably for the fledgling NUSET. And the Unicorn was the result. Every member of NUSET looked upon her with satisfaction and deep respect, for this submarine was the epitome of technological achievement. More than that, in accordance with the legend of her mythical namesake, the Unicorn had become a symbol of hope for the future of mankind amidst the constant threat of technological annihilation. For NUSET was an organization openly and honestly dedicated to the peaceful application of science. Any nation, friend or foe, could, for a modest fee, sign on to share in the wealth of information the project meant to collect. Any nation. And that, more than anything else, was the true victory