Changes (Collegium Chronicles Book 3)

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* Audio

## POV Information

**Gender**
**Char Name**

Male
Mags

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## About the Book

* **Genres**: Young Adult, Epic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery
* **Theme**:
* **Narrative style**:

## Description

In Mercedes Lackey's classic coming-of-age story, the orphan Magpie pursues his quest for his parent's identity with burning urgency-while also discovering another hidden talent and being trained by the King's Own Herald as an undercover agent for Valdemar. Shy Bardic Trainee Lena has to face her famous but uncaring father, one of Valdemar's most renowned Bards. And Healing Trainee Bear must struggle against his disapproving parents, who are pressuring Bear to quit the Healers' Collegium because he lacks the magical Healing Gift.

Each of the three friends must face his or her demons and find their true strength as they seek to become the full Heralds, Bards, and Healers of Valdemar.

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### Synopsis

The three Collegia hold an open day to celebrate completion of the new Collegia and to educate the public. Mags is busy playing Kirball to an adoring public and spying for King’s Own, Herald Nikolas while Bear is busy training people to use his healing kits. Meanwhile Lena is devastated that she has been given no solos in a concert organized by her father Bard Marchand, but his protégé has been given three. Mags gives her some much needed advice to be the better person and become friends with the protégée Farris.

Nikolas decides to make Mags his full apprentice and integrate him into his intelligence network. The pair start spending time in Haven using Nikolas’ personae as Willy Weasel, a pawnbroker to collect information. A tip-off from one of the Weasel’s customers leads to discovering the dead bodies of the foreign agents from the fake trading delegation, and identifying two new agents have taken their place. The two agents Stone and Ice, prove hard for Mags to track.

Bear is excited and terrified to find out that his proposal to re-break and heal Amily’s leg has been approved, and he is to oversee the entire operation. Mags, and the Collegia students and staff help Bear realise what he needs to plan the operation. Bear also discovers that his father had hired another healer, Cuburn to spy on him a report back Bear’s “crimes”.

Mags goes undercover as a streetwise bully to capture a group of children used as messengers by the now-dead spies. He and Nikolas are shocked to discover the children had been ordered to leave messages for “our men on the hill”. The implications are dreadful, who amongst the Heralds, Bards, Healers, Guard and Trainees could working against Valdemar? Nikolas orders the mission shut down and refuses to explain to Mags why. Bear and Amily are dismayed to find out the operation has been postponed.

Lena has befriended Farris and discovers that he is the latest in a series of protégés, who have had their work stolen by the famous Bard Marchand. Lena surmises that Marchand hides his crime by convincing the protégés to live in obscurity. In an usually brave move, Lena presents the evidence to Dean Lita and Marchand is called to confront the charges. Marchand is banned from having any more protégés but still continues to have an influence over Lena.

During the hot summer, fights start breaking out amongst Mags and his friends. Mags trying to escape the heat and his friends encounters the Valdemar Heartstone and discovers why Amily’s operation had been cancelled. ForeSeers had experienced visions of Amily being kidnapped. Knowing this could lead to the destruction of the Herald Web, King Kiril and Nikolas postponed the operation while they try to lure out the kidnappers during a Kirball festival.

Amily, Bear and Mags confront Nikolas and offer an alternate plan to lure out the kidnappers: an ambushed ambush. Mags is confronted by Stone and Ice during the kidnapping attempt on Amily and realises that they have orders to capture him as well. Stone and Ice escape but one of their informants, a Palace servant gives himself up. When interrogated, the servant Pawel reveals he and the foreign agents are working for Karse. It is also revealed the agents have two other informants, a Healer and a Bard.

Bard Marchand invites Mags and Amily to a concert at a nobleman's house, but Amily is kidnapped by Stone and Ice on the way. Mags and Dallen are knocked out while trying to pursue the pair and are revived by Prince Sedric. Marchand is interrogated and it is revealed he had been bribed by Stone and Ice for information, but denies any wrongdoing. Mags realises the Heartstone knows how to track Stone and Ice and convinces it to show him. The Heartstone reveals the foreign agents are the cause of all the fights breaking out. Cuburn is later reveled to be the other informant and is suspected of being forced into keeping Amily drugged under duress.

Mags and his friends come up with a plan to capture Stone and Ice: go door-knocking in Haven and asking if the inhabitants have seen the men. Mags eventually tracks down the agents and leads them across a roof-top chase into the Heralds' trap. Stone and Ice are captured but are killed by the talismans they wear. Cuburn and Marchand are punished and sentenced to serve in remote parts of Valdemar. Bear and his team of Healers successfully fix Amily's leg over the summer.

## Characters

Characters appearing or mentioned in the book.

### Major Characters

* Dallen - Companion to Mags
* Healer-Trainee Bear - Mags’ best friend
* Bardic-Trainee Lena - Mags’ and Bear’s best friend and daughter of Tobias Marchand
* Herald Nikolas - King’s Own and Mags’ mentor
* Amily - Nikolas’ daughter and Mags’ sweetheart
* Dean Caelen - Dean of the Herald Collegium
* Tobias Marchand - Famous bard and Lena’s father
* Cuburn - Healer who spies on Bear and reports to Bear’s father
* Stone - Foreign agent and assassin working for Karse
* Ice - Foreign agent and assassin working for Karse

### Minor Characters

* Herald-Trainee Gennie - Captain of the South Kirball team
* Herald-Trainee Pip - Member of the South Kirball team
* Herald-Trainees Halleck - Member of the South Kirball team
* Corwin - Guard Trainee and member of the South Kirball team
* Jeffers - Member of the South Kirball team
* Lord Wess- Member of the South Kirball team
* Crown Prince Sedric - Heir to the Valdemaran throne and fiancé of Lydia
* Farris - Bard Marchand’s protégée
* Bear’s father and brother