Synopsis: From the back cover of the DAW Books first edition: Windrider! - Oa had been the prime contender for the throne of Dynast - closer than any of the other heirs to holding the reins of Empire, and all the power, intrigue, luxury and illusion that went with them... Until the reigning Dynast put an insurmountable obstacle in her path: she must kill her true love in the deadly High Dance or forsake her life's ambition. Avoiding her fate and fleeing downriver to the unknown lands of the west, Oa finds herself on a high plateau where those with power ride remarkable beasts whose soaring flight is like the primeval rush of the wind itself, and whose riders sail between earth and sky. And Oa knows that she would fight any battle and face nay odds to feel the freedom of speed and space on the untamed back of a Windsteed!