Firesong

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Firesong
Cover by Peter Sis for Firesong.
Author	William Nicholson
Cover artist	Peter Sis
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Wind on Fire Trilogy
Genre(s)	Children's Fantasy novel
Publisher	Egmont
Publication date	2002
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	352 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0786805714
Preceded by	Slaves of the Mastery

Firesong (ISBN 1-4052-0654-3) is a book written by William Nicholson, and is the third part of the Wind On Fire trilogy.

[edit] Plot summary

Firesong begins with the Manth people deliberating what action to take now that the Mastery is in ruins. After the defeat of the Master, alone and displaced, they seek a new homeland but have no real destination and very little food.

Ira Hath, descendant of Ira Manth; a great prophetess, has a vision of the Manth peoples' true homeland. Throughout the book, the Manth people travel with only Ira's guidance, and she becomes weaker as they go. Her cheeks become warm as they near it, and when she sees the homeland her life ends; her destiny fulfilled.

Bowman eagerly awaits a summons from Sirene, and must prepare to make a great sacrifice for his people. But first he must be trained by the great Albard (the Master of the ruined Mastery). The journey is long, and his preparation is tough, especially in the hands of a strange teacher. Jumper, the Singer who has come for Bowman, agrees to let Kestrel, Bowman's sister, come along too.

In the end it is Kestral who is summoned, having picked up some of Albard's teachings along the way. She sings the Firesong at the Wind on the Fire. Bowman is the Meeting place; the point at which the great evil and the great kindness will annihilate one another. This is because he was once one of the Zars, the army of the Morah, and is one of the Sirene too, as he is a Singer.

The ending finds Kestrel dead, for she ends her life with all the other singers, singing the firesong and Bowman married to Sisi, who was a princess before she joined the Manths, and they become ruler of a great new civilisation, the kingdom of Gang.