Maggie Furey - Harp of Winds

Long ago, there had been four great magical weapons fashioned to be used only by the Magefolk, But their history had been lost, together with the artifacts themselves, in the Cataclysm, the horrific wars of magic which had wrought changes on land and water alike. Lost also had been the history of the non-human Magefolk: the Winged Ones, the Dragonfolk and the mighty Leviathan—or so said the ancient legends.

Young Aurian, daughter of renegade Mages, growing up lonely and neglected in her mother’s Valley, knows nothing of these tales. Yet when she meets Forral, a wandering swordsman, the encounter will change not only their lives, but the future course of history.

Aurian’s father, Forral’s friend Geraint, has perished in a dreadful accident through misuse of his Fire-magic, and her grieving mother, the Earth-Mage Eilin, is obsessed with using her powers to restore the Valley—the barren crater left by the explosion. Appalled by Eilin’s neglect of her daughter, Forral decides to stay and care for her. A close, loving bond develops between child and swordsman—until Forral discovers, to his dismay, that Aurian is experimenting with her father’s Fire-magic. To distract her from such dangerous activities, he offers to teach her swordplay, giving her a sword as a birthday gift. Aurian is becoming a gifted swordswoman until overconfidence results in a mistake which almost kills her. Eilin, on the advice of the Magefolk healer Meiriel, sends her to the city of Nexis, and the Academy, where the few remaining Magefolk dwell, to be properly trained as a Mage.

Homesick, and desperately missing Forral, Aurian turns to the Archmage Miathan, quite unaware of his future plans for her. His interest earns Aurian the enmity of the ambitious Weather-Mage Eliseth, and her cohorts, Bragar and Davorshan, though she becomes friendly with Finbarr, the Archivist, and D’arvan, Davorshan’s twin, who is unable to access his own powers. As Aurian grows towards adulthood, her determination to excel in magic is diverted by the return of Forral, who accepts the post of Commander of the Nexis Garrison, with its position on the Ruling Council, with Miathan and the merchants’ representative, Vannor, Aurian resumes her sword training and makes Mortal friends at the Garrison—especially Maya, Forral’s Lieutenant, and Parric, the Cavalrymaster. The bond between Aurian and Forral ripens into mature love, but matings between Mortals and Magefolk are forbidden. For Aurian’s sake, Forral rebuffs her, leaving her baffled and hurt.

Elsewhere in Nexis, a young man sees his mother die in a fire. Anvar, son of Tori the Baker, puts out the blaze using some mysterious force, but his father, blaming him for the accident, sells him as a bondservant to the Archmage. Anvar discovers that he is really Miathan’s son, and has Mage blood, but Miathan steals his powers, binding him with a spell of silence before sending him to the kitchens as a slave. After months of toil and brutality, he escapes, seeking his lover Sara, who was pregnant when they were parted. Before he is recaptured, he discovers that she has lost the child, and is now married to Vannor.

When Anvar is recaptured, Aurian takes pity on him, defending him against Miathan. The Archmage gives Anvar to her as her servant, and his life improves, but he distrusts her. Soon, however, he begins to worry about his mistress. Forral’s rejection is making her increasingly unhappy, and Miathan has begun to force his attentions on her. Anvar is sent to help Finbarr the Archivist, Aurian’s closest friend among the Magefolk, and discovers a secret chamber in the catacombs below the library. The room contains ancient relics, and Miathan finds a deadly weapon—a grail refashioned from the Caldron of Rebirth—one of the four lost Artifacts of Power, When Aurian and Forral become lovers, the jealous Archmage turns the grail to evil, and curses any child of Forral’s that Aurian might bear—that it will take the form of the first beast she sees after its birth.

The following Solstice sees sinister things taking place, Vannor’s daughter Zanna, knowing that Sara has married her father for his riches, quarrels with her stepmother and runs off to join the Nightrunners, Vannor’s secret, illicit smuggling partners. D’arvan, still the only powerless Mage, discovers that Davorshan is plotting with Eliseth to get rid of him, and on Aurian’s advice, turns to the Mortals at the Garrison for support, Eliseth then persuades Meiriel the Healer to negate Aurian’s spells against pregnancy, knowing that Miathan will never countenance Forral’s half-breed child,

Eliseth’s plots soon come to fruition. Davorshan tries to murder his brother, and Aurian sends D’arvan to her mother, who can help him find his powers. Maya goes with him to the Valley. Soon afterwards, Meiriel discovers that Aurian, unbeknown to herself, is with child, Miathan puts Aurian under a spell of sleep and forces the Healer to help him destroy the babe, but Anvar discovers the plot, and tells Forral and Vannor. Forral, berserk with rage, attacks Miathan, who unleashes terrifying creatures from the grail—Death-Wraiths—spirit vampires who sap the life-force of the living. Aurian fights free of the spell to go to Forral’s aid, but the swordsman is slain. Finbarr fights the Wraiths with magic, buying Aurian, Vannor and Anvar time to escape before he is killed. The creatures, out of Miathan’s control, pour out across the city.

Overcome with rage and grief, Aurian vows to avenge Forral, but until a way can be found to fight Miathan, she must flee. While Vannor returns to the city to organize resistance against the Archmage, Aurian and Anvar escape downriver by boat, reluctantly taking Sara with them, at Vannor’s request. At the port, they find passage on a ship crewed by villainous cutthroats. Aurian decides that the only hope of fighting Miathan is to find the other three Artifacts—but they have been lost for centuries and time is limited, for as her pregnancy progresses, she will lose her powers until the child is born. Then, to her horror, she feels Miathan’s mind, searching the seas for her with magic. Miathan and Eliseth now control Nexis. Fearing the enmity of Aurian’s mother, Miathan sends Davorshan to kill her. In the meantime, Maya and D’arvan reach the Valley, where Eilin tells them of the terrible events, seen in her scrying-glass, that have occurred. She also tells D’arvan that his true father is Hellorin, Lord of the Phaerie—a powerful race of Elemental beings exiled from the mundane world by ancient Magefolk. Stunned by shock and grief, Maya and D’arvan turn to each other for comfort and become lovers. They stay in the Valley, so that D’arvan can learn magic, hoping to find a way to fight Miathan.

Aurian, at sea, is using her powers to shield the ship from Miathan’s search. They find whales, and Aurian discovers powerful minds of great wisdom—the ancient Magefolk race of Leviathan. When the crew attempt to harpoon them, Aurian is forced to use magic to save them. With her shields down, Miathan finds her, and Eliseth conjures up a storm to sink the ship while Miathan attacks with magic. In the ensuing battle, Aurian blinds him.

Aurian, Anvar and Sara are rescued by the Leviathan, and find that the storm has blown them to the mysterious Southern Kingdoms. Sara has seduced Anvar, reminding him of the love they once shared, and he and Aurian quarrel. The whales put the lovers ashore, and Aurian goes on with the Leviathan Ithalasa, who teaches her the lost history of her people, and the other Magefolk races. Aurian learns about the missing Artifacts: the Staff of Earth, the Harp of Winds, and the Sword of Flame—a master-weapon created by the ancient Dragonfolk for one hand only to wield. Sadly, Ithalasa does not know their whereabouts, and Aurian, worried about Anvar, returns to find him—but he has vanished.