The Vigil on Earth is the first volume of the Ravensway trilogy. The trilogy traces the quest of the young Australian hero to defeat the forces of Hrefn (i.e. Raven) and restore ascendancy to the forces of LŽoht (i.e. Light). In volume one Rick Scyld is recruited as hero by the Banksia Witch, and is immediately assailed on the First Plane (earth) by the forces of Hrefn. To fulfil the quest, Rick must journey to the Second Plane, where Hrefn and Leoht have their abode, and he must do this by somehow entering the giant egg of the Bunyip. Rick undergoes a process of initiation and learning in an underground Indigenous world, and is aided by tree witches from the First Plane and wizards and elves from the Second Plane, as he battles the minions of Hrefn in the Australian landscape.
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