In The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, the beautiful wizard Sybel has the power to call and tame a collection of wondrous animals. Her calm life is shattered when she takes in Tamlorn, a supposedly orphaned boy who is at the center of a long-standing war. As Tamlorn grows up and becomes aware of his heritage, Sybel is forced to become involved in the outside world. When confronted with conflicting needs of love and revenge, Sybel must struggle to overcome her betrayal of both herself and those she loves most.

Sybel, the daughter of wizards, lives contentedly alone atop her mountain until Coren, a warrior of the House of Sirle, brings to her a baby boy. Coren tells Sybel that the babys dead mother was Sybel’s aunt and the queen of Eldwold, and that his father, Corens brother, was slain in the recent battle in which Sirle was soundly defeated. Now little Tamlorn is endangered by the war between Sirle and Eldwold. Coren begs Sybel to care for Tamlorn, and she reluctantly agrees. She is assisted by Maelga, an old witch living nearby.

As Tam grows up among Sybel’s fantastic menagerie, Sybel comes to love him dearly. She knows that Tam actually is the son of Drede, the king of Eldwold and sworn enemy of the House of Sirle. Rok, the lord of Sirle and Corens eldest brother, desperately wishes to overthrow Drede. He sends Coren back to Sybel to try to persuade her to use both Tamlorn and her considerable wizardly powers to defeat Drede. Coren, who has fallen in love with Sybel, is unable to coax her into fighting for Sirle. Tam has also discovered his parentage and wishes to live with his real father. Drede, pleased to have his son back but fearing that Sybel will use her powers against him, hires a wizard to control Sybel. She is able to defeat the wizard with the help of one of her magical beasts, and Coren takes her to Sirle as his wife.

Sybel harbors hatred for Drede and desires revenge as much as the Sirle brothers. She conspires with Rok to use her powers and her animals—including a dragon, a lion, and a riddle-spouting boar—to destroy Drede. Sybel thus betrays the trust of both Coren and Tam, who believed she had given up her need for revenge.

Maelga and Cyrin the boar reawaken twinges of guilt in Sybel over what she has done. Then, on the eve of battle, Sybel herself is almost destroyed by one of her more fearsome and not easily controlled beasts. Realizing that the price of revenge is too high, Sybel releases all of her animals from her control and returns to her isolated mountain to let fate decide the battles outcome. Even without Sybel to command them, her animals destroy Drede, rescue Tamlorn, and lure the soldiers away from the battlefield to stop the war before it starts. By facing and overcoming the ugliness within her own heart, Sybel is able to save her relationships with Coren and Tam and achieve her hearts desire.