Strongholds of rock . . . fortresses of the spirit . . . a planet set apart . . . A castle high in snow-covered mountains beneath a ruddy sun, a place at once romantic and bleak, alien and richly nostalgic . . . a heart besieged and then re-awakened . . . secrets locked away by stone and spell . . . the last refuge of desperate folk . . . Towers where laran-Gifted circles work their magic . . . and Darkover itself, a world apart, yet under repeated assault by those who would exploit its natural resources, including its unique telepathic Gifts . . . Citadels can be psychic, emotional, and cultural as well as military, and the wonderfully imaginative contributors to this volume have taken the basic idea and spun out stories in different and often unexpected directions. This volume contains stories by Robin Wayne Bailey, Jane M. H. Bigelow, Barb Caffrey, Evey Brett, Lillian Csernica, Leslie Fish, Rebecca Fox, Steven Harper, Shariann Lewitt, Diana L. Paxson, Robin Rowland, and Marella Sands.