An alternate history in which the Malwa Empire--taught and ruled by the evil monster Link, a creation from the far future--is engaged in war by the forces of Belisarius, a sixth-century general who is guided by Aide, a gleaming jewel that can warn but not lead, and teach weaponry but not use it.

"Orkise is loose. The snake god of plague has been awakened by Lucia del Maino, daughter of the recently overthrown duke of Milan. With the venomous magic of Orkise at her command, Lucia plots to marry then murder the current ruler of Milan, Carlo Sforza--otherwise know as the Wolf of the North. Other trouble is brewing as well. Sforza's bastard son, having conquered the Byzantine empire, has a score to settle with his father. Additionally, the terrifying...

As the Thirty Years War continues to devastate Europe, the inhabitants of the American town mysteriously transported from the twentieth century to the seventeenth century confront a new foe and try to rescue Galileo from a heresy charge

"The emperor is dead; long live the emperors! The assassinated Shah Jahan lies entombed beside his beloved wife in the Taj Mahal, while their progeny drag the Mughal Empire into a three-sided struggle over the succession to the Peacock Throne. The diplomatic and trade mission from the United States of Europe is openly siding with Princess Jahanara and her brother Dara Shikoh. The mission, made up largely of Americans transplanted in time by the Ring...

After carving a place among the powers of 17th-century Western Europe, the out-of-time modern town of Grantville, West Virginia, must fight for its life in a war-torn Europe just emerging from medieval skullduggery