num_pages: 400
description: Only the Companions truly remember the long-ago age when high magic was lost to Valdemar as the last Herald-Mage gave his life to save the kingdom from destruction by dark sorceries.Yet now the realm is once again at risk, for Ancar of Hardorn will use every weapon at his command to conquer Valdemar. And it is Elspeth, heir to the throne and a full-fledged Herald, who must take up Ancar’s challenge, abandoning her home to find a mentor who can awaken her untrained mage abilities. To aid her on this dangerous quest, Kerowyn—Herald, Captain of the Skybolt mercenaries, and holder of the magical sword Need—gives Need into Elspeth’s keeping.But even as Elspeth sets out in search of the forgotten magic that could prove to be Valdemar’s best hope, others, too, are being caught up in a war against sorcerous evil. The Tayledras scout Darkwind is the first to stumble across a menace that is creeping forth from the uncleansed lands. Though his father is a Tayledras Adept and Darkwind himself has already taken the first steps on the road to becoming a wielder of magic, he has denied his Adept’s heritage ever since his mother’s death during a major spell-casting. Drawing solely on warrior skills and the talents of the gyrfalcon to whom he is as closely bonded as a Herald is to a Companion, Darkwind guards the borders he is sworn to protect. But when sorcery begins to take its toll among his comrades, Darkwind, like Elspeth, may be forced to call upon the very powers he has cut himself off from to survive the onslaught of an enemy able to wreak greater devastation with spells of destruction than with swords…
language: English
title: Winds of Fate
titlecomplete: Winds of Fate (Valdemar: Mage Winds, #1)
characters: Gwena, Queen Selenay of Valdemar, Need, Treyvan, Quenten, Darkwind, Dawnfire, King Faram, Princess Elspeth of Valdemar, Ancar, Herald Skif, Nyara, Hydona, Kerowyn, Talia Sensdaughter, Starblade
genres: Magic, Fiction, Adventure, Young Adult, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Adult, Romance, Fantasy
ratings_count: 16959
series: Valdemar: Mage Winds, Valdemar (Publication order), Valdemar (Chronological)
publisher: New Amer Library Trade