Magic's Promise
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[edit] Synopsis
This is the second book in Mercedes (Misty) Lackey's Last Herald-Mage Trilogy. It is comrised of Magic's Pawn, Magic's Promise, and Magic's Price. In this book Vanyel must protect young prince Tashir, who is suspected of murder.
[edit] Characters
Vanyel: A 28 year old shaych Herald-Mage. His lifebonded committed suicide in the previous book. Known as the most powerful Herald-Mage and possesses every form of Mind-Magic.
Savil: Another Herald-Mage who happens to be Van's aunt.
Tashir: A young Prince-Herald of Lineas, with a mysterious past.
Jervis: Vanyel's family's armsmaster.
Medren: Vanyel's illegitimate nephew, with tremendous Bard potential.
Randale: The King of Valdemar.
Shavri: Randale's life-bonded and Jisa's mother.
Jisa: The biological daughter of Vanyel and Shavri. Randale was impotent so he asked Van to help him. Randale and Shavri raise her as their own daughter.
Yfandes: Vanyel's Companion.
Kellan: Savil's Companion.
Ghost: Tashir's terrified young Companion.
[edit] Summary
The book opens with Vanyel retuning from an extensive campaign along the Karsite border. Hoping to get some rest, he decides to head back to Forst Reach, his family's home. Before he leaves, he checks in with King Randale and his lifebonded, Shavri. Shavri confides in Vanyel that she fears Randale is sick.
While he's there he also sees Jisa. Jisa is Shavri and Vanyel's daughter, but only a select few know this secret. Shavri wanted a child, but Randale was impotent, so they asked Vanyel if he could help.
After seeing the King and his family, Vanyel and Savil head to Forst Reach. The rest is supposed to be peaceful, but it is far from it. While he is there his parents both try to change his mind about being shaych, or liking his own sex. These efforts leave Vanyel confused about his own sexuality. He wonders if he is truly in love with Shavri. Yfandes finds the situation incredibly amusing.
However, the visit does have its upsides, because Van meets his illegitimate nephew, Medren. The boy has an incredible Bardic gift and Vanyel sponsors him for the Bardic Collegium. Nevertheless, currently Medren is small like Vanyel was, and is often beat up by the armsmaster Jervais.
Eventually, Van confronts Jervis and learns that the armsmaster is not being intentionally rough. He also apologizes for beating up on Van when he was a kid. Vanyel accepts this and the form an uneasy friendship.
Aside from these side-plots, the book focuses on Vanyel helping a young Herald-Prince and Tashir. In the middle of the night Vanyel and 'Fandes are called into the neighbooring country of Lineas to save Tashir.
When they get there, they find that Tashir is being picked on by another Herald named Lores. Lores believes that Tashir has murdered his entire family with magic. Vanyel immediately stops Lores and tells him to go back to Valdemar. Then he comforts Tashir and his terrified Companion, Ghost.
Vanyel takes Tashir back to his home, but then returns to Lineas to gather information. In Lineas magic is taboo. No one is supposed to perform it. That was why Tashir using magic was so frightening to the citizens. Also, everyone believed that Tashir was the son of his mother and her own brother. This was because there was an uncanny resembalance between Tashi and his uncle, Vedric, who was also a mage.
Since Tashir has magic, everyone believes these rumors. The Lineas population does not trust Baires, the neighbooring, magic using country. Since Tashir's mother was from Baries, no one trusted Tashir either.
When Van returns to Lineas he learns that everyone at the palace were related, even the servants. Also Tashir's home life was unstable. His father hated the child and his mother tried to seduce him. These seem like reasonable reasons for Tashir's breakdown, so Vanyel returns to Forst Reach.
However, not everything is adding up, so this time Vanyel, Savil, Jervis, and Tashir return to Lineas. Once in the capital, they breakthrough the shields surrounding the palace and look for more clues.
Inside the palace they learn the entire story. Inside a secret room there is a heart-stone (a stone with magical properties). It is keeping a deep, dangerous fault-line sealed. The stone was very unstable and could deal with very little magic so a guardian family without magic was appointed. If the stone were to be removed a giant earthquake would occur destroying Lineas, parts of the outlands, and the border of Valdemar. That was why magic was anthema in Lineas and also why everyone in the palace was related.
Still, that was not the only secret the palace housed. Inside the palace there is a trap-spell. The trap-spell would target one person and then would kill that person's entire person's family. This was what happened when the entire palace was killed. Tashir was the target, so was not killed. The trap-spell was put their by Tashir's Uncle (only uncle as it turned out) Vedric. Vedric had wanted to control the entire land of Lineas as well as Baires.
After the four of them figured that out Vedric shows up. Van knew that Vedric would trigger the trap-spell on him, so he had Savil gate herself and Tashir out, so Savil and Jisa could be protected from the spells. Jervis stayed with Van.
When Vedric showed up Van was able to counter Vedric's spell and ended up destroying not only Vedric, but the majority of the Baires family. They then Gated back to Forst Reach. Expending so much energy wiped Vanyel out and caused him to pass out.
While he was passed out, Van saw an old firend, Herald Jaysen. Jaysen told Van that he had died defending Jisa, but it was in no was Vayel's fault. He also told Van to continue living, because he would love again. Van of course was to dense to interpret the clue.
At the end of the book Tashir becamse King of both Baires and Lineas. However, since Tashir was too scared to rule, King Randale annexed the countries, so they would be part o Valdemar. In addition, Van finally sorted out that he truly was shaych and Shavri was only a good friend.
