Enter a world where magic reigns. A world where good and evil are reflected not just in men's and women's hearts, but in the land around them. Enter the world of Willow.

Yes, magic is a potent force in Willow's world--and the people who can wield it are the rulers. Chief among these is Bavmorda, queen of Nockmaar. Nockmaar is the supreme power in the world today, but it was not always so. Once a golden land called Tir Asleen ruled. Its prince fell in love with a beautiful sorceress named Fin Raziel, who gave up her mystical studies to become betrothed to the young prince.

But the marriage was not to be. For Bavmorda, an equally powerful, equally beautiful sorceress also wanted the prince for her own. But Bavmorda's magic had been twisted to evil--and she used her spells to lure the prince from Fin Raziel and influence him to marry Bavmorda instead.

Unlike Fin Raziel, Bavmorda wanted the prince not for himself but for his power. From her throne as Tir Asleen's new queen, she loosed her magic upon the golden land. Crops withered and died. Animals sickened. The land turned to desolation. Then, having sucked the land of all the power it had, Bavmorda abandoned Tir Asleen, and established a new castle in Nockmaar, named for the glowering, black volcano that bordered it. Soon, she spread her power to all the lands north, east and west.

Tir Asleen itself she surrounded with a maze, so that none could ever find that once-happy place again.

Charged by Cherlindrea as protectors, the brownies carry with them the Dust of Broken Heart, which can make even bitter enemies into lovers.

But Bavmorda's reign was not a happy one. Her druids and high priests had discovered a threat to her realm--in an unexpected place. They accidentally conjured a vision of Fin Raziel, as beautiful as ever, giving the evil sorceress-queen a warning: "You may defeat me, but you will not defeat the child. The mystery of the child is larger than you, and in that mystery, your reign will end. Here is the sign..." And Fin Raziel's image faded into a shimmering circle; a sign that would haunt Bavmorda for the rest of her days.

Bavmorda had indeed defeated Fin Raziel. Having abandoned the ways of magic for the love of the prince, Fin Raziel beseeched all the powers of magic in the world for help in defeating Bavmorda. At last, she turned to Cherlindrea, queen of the fairies, asking for the loan of her magic wand. Cherlindrea refused--but promised if Fin Raziel returned to her magical studies, when the time was right and Bavmorda could be defeated, Fin Raziel could have the wand. But Fin Raziel attacked too soon--she was vanquished in sorcerous combat with Bavmorda, and exiled to an island in the middle of a lake in the far northlands.

Bavmorda spent many years consolidating her power, but still the lands to the south--Galladoorn and the Nelwyn Valley--resisted her. Perhaps they were protected in some way by the powers of Cherlindrea and the fairy folk; for Galladoorn and the Nelwyn Valley were to play special parts in Bavmorda's fall.

The Nelwyns are a small people--not as small as the brownies or the fairies, to be sure, but much smaller than the Daikinis. The Nelwyn Valley had not always been their home. Many centuries ago, escaping persecution in the north, they had followed the great River Freen to the meadows of the valley. Even now, the ruins of the original brochs and wheelhouses stand in the field where the Nelwyns hold their annual fair. The Nelwyns are close to the land, being farmers and miners mostly, and the land treats them fairly. The celebration honors the health of the Nelwyn Valley, symbolized by the Wickerman, erected over the field each year.

The Nelwyns are also a source of magic in the world, for their High Aldwin is one of the great natural sorcerers; and even among the lesser people--yes, even the simple farmfolk--there is an affinity for magic. Years before the child was born, magic touched a Nelwyn named Vohnkar, one of the few ever to leave the safety of the valley. In his youth, Vohnkar had sought Tir Asleen, only to fall prey to the harshness of Nockmaar and its environs. Rescued by elves impressed with his devotion to the golden land's myth, he was given a silver ring, bearing the mark of Elora Dana, the child to come.

Galladoorn, too, would have its part to play. For one of its great warriors, Madmartigan, would become a protector of the child. At its height, before the advent of Bavmorda, Galladoorn was second only to Tir Asleen. It was fabled as a refuge for the persecuted and downtrodden, and so became the richer for the diversity of its people.

The son of noblefolk, Madmartigan was a restless child, not given to study. He became an expert soldier and hunter before he was out of his teens. But his own wild ways betrayed him. He had a dream--a dream of prophecy, that he vowed to reveal to no one. Alas, he told of it to a beautiful lady love--not only destroying the prophecy, but breaking a knightly oath as well. He fell into disgrace--a disgrace from which he never recovered, until he met the child, Elora Danan.

There is great evil waiting to be freed from within a foul troll.

Magic comes in many forms in Willow's world. Chief among them is the spell. A spell is an incantation meant to produce a desired effect. A frequently used spell is that of transformation. A spell of transformation turns a being of one kind into another--most often changing Daikini or Nelwyns into animals. Bavmorda is a master of transformation: She used it on Fin Raziel, turning the beautiful sorceress into a possum. She tries it on the army attacking Nockmaar, casting spells to create swine.

Transformation can also be used on inanimate objects. This is a favorite trick of the High Aldwin, who frequently tosses a stone into the air, changing it into a bird in midflight. This trick can also be done in reverse, though usually only by the evil sorcerers. For example, Bavmorda transformed all the people of Tir Asleen into stone.

Bavmorda's greatest spell is the one she attempts on the child Elora Danan--the ritual of obliteration. It is said this powerful enchantment not only eliminates its subject, but wipes all of its existence from the world, as if the subject had never been. Bavmorda can also use the spell to draw the subject's own power into herself.

Sorcery can be employed to see the future and past as well--though this requires great effort and often the powers of several sorcerers at once. Even the powerful Bavmorda must rely on her druids and priests to scry for her.

Not all magic must be spoken like a spell. Sometimes, merely force of will is all that is needed. Such magic is often manifested in physical ways--Bavmorda is given to bolts of lightning and balls of fire, while Cherlindrea's wand produces a brilliant light.

Some physical objects have magical properties. Cherlindrea's wand is one. Others can only manifest a single power--the fairies' Dust of Broken Heart, for example, can only induce mindless love. The High Aldwin grants Willow three acorns, each of which can turn a living being to stone.

Fairies and their close cousins, the brownies, are a magical people. Within her own wood, the fairy Queen Cherlindrea can alter her appearance and protect any she chooses from evil. But outside the wood, she is powerless. Indeed, it is said that a fairy dies if she strays too far from home. The brownies, however, are great adventurers--hence, Queen Cherlindrea often uses them as her ambassadors to the outside world.

Other magical folk are also tied to their homelands. The Nelwyn's High Aldwin is said to be so connected to his valley. He is even barred from leaving it.

Those who deal in good magic have much in common with the creatures of nature. Often on a journey, the wild animals will protect and nurture such sorcerers and magic folk. On the other hand, evil magicians can expect no such protection and are in constant danger of attack.

The use of magic draws much strength from those who use it, therefore evil sorcerers often try to draw upon the strength of others for their power. That is why Bavmorda's land of Nockmaar is such a desolation--rather than exhaust herself, she chose to draw strength from the land, wasting it. Land spoiled by evil magic grows nothing but evil itself.