to members of the Light or the Dark. Will Stanton begins to do this without even realizing it. When an Old One speaks the Old Speech in front of a normal human, it will sound like gibberish. Some agents of the Dark, such as the Rider, can also speak Old Speech, but with a distinctive accent which gives them away to the Old Ones. Rhymes Small rhyming prophecies serve to guide the protagonists throughout the series. Science fiction author and filker Julia Ecklar has set these rhyming prophecies to music, and the resulting song, also called "The Dark Is Rising", won the 1997 Pegasus Award for Best Sorcery Song. Works in the series Over Sea, Under Stone The characters in this book, which was published several years before the others, are younger than those in the rest of the series, and the issues are presented as less cosmic. Overall the book is aimed at younger readers more than the other four books in the series. In this tale, Susan Cooper introduces the audience to Merriman, a pivotal character for the forces of the Light and also ties him with Simon, Jane and Barney Drew, three young mortal children, in a quest by the sea which will lead them over sea and under stone to find a grail of legend to help the Light in its struggle against the Dark. The Dark Is Rising The second book is set not on the Cornish coast but in rural Buckinghamshire, near the River Thames, and features a new group of characters. Will Stanton, the protagonist, begins to have strange experiences on his 11th birthday, just before Christmas. He learns he is one of the Old Ones, a guardian and warrior for the Light, and that he must help find the four Things of Power in order that the Light may battle the forces of the Dark. The first of these is the Circle of Six Signs, and the novel follows Will's adventures as he finds each one of these mandalas, which are then joined into a completed circle and used to ward off the forces of the Dark. The book features elements of English folklore that are especially associated with the Thames Valley, with Herne the Hunter and Wayland the Smith making an appearance. Merriman/Merlin also makes an appearance, linking this book to the previous one. The Dark Is Rising was an American