In October 2003, Anne Bishop returned to finish off the Tir Alainn Trilogy with one heckuva finale. This 420 page novel covers only a couple of months overall, but it has a lot happening and that is what makes it the most fascinating book in the entire series. Synopsis: It began as a witch-hunt. But the Master Inquisitor's plans to eliminate all traces of female power in the world have expanded to crushing the Sylvalan barons who oppose him--and to destroying the wellspring of magic in the Mother's Hills. Faced with this evil, humans, witches, and the Fae become uneasy allies. But even together, they aren't strong enough to stand against the armies the Inquisitors are gathering. So they look for help from their last possible ally. The House of Gaian. The reclusive witches who rule the Mother's Hills. The witches powerful enough to create a world--or to destroy one... And the witches' long-held creed "Do no harm" is about to give way to a more important one: Survive.
Ashk--the Green Lady of the Forest and Hunter, trains Neall in the ways of a Lord of the Forest. Morag--the Gatherer of Souls--questions whether she should've ended it back in Brightwood and killed the Master Inquisitor when she had the chance. Padrick tells the clan that because of Liam's absence and passionate speech, the vote to ultimately subject all women to become controlled by men has failed and that the Inquisitors have declared war. Gwynith, a friend of Ashk's and a Lady of the Moon, alerts Ashk to the fact that Dianna's power is waning and wants to be there when the next one is chosen. In the Mother's Hills, Selena and her sister Rhyann leave for Brightwood. Breanna, with Falco and Liam, meet Lucian who demands that Falco kidnap one of the witches living in Willowsbrook and take her to Ridgeley so Dianna can recover. Breanna says no with an arrow and tells him to get off her property and she doesn't care who he is. Liam escort Lucian back to the edge of town, an argument breaks out in which Liam says that the Fae are the Mother's spoiled children and demands to know why there aren't any witches at Brightwood. While Ashk and company leave for Willowsbrook, Adolfo finishes his torture and implied rape of a female Fae, trying to create the ultimate nighthunter. Selena arrives in time for the changing of the Moon's power. She dances for the Mother and wins the power from Dianna, who tries to kill Selena--now the Huntress and Lady of the Moon--in anger and hatred. She wounds Dianna and shows the rest what they're now dealing with: the Queen of the Witches, something that the Fae have also forgotten. Gwynith pledges her loyalty to Selena and lets her know that the Hunter is heading for Willowsbrook. Meanwhile, others have started arriving in Willowsbrook to prepare for the fight that has broken out in the north. Adolfo orders Ubel to take ten warships to the north and blockade the ports. In Tir Alainn, Lucian demands that Selena give her power back to his sister or that she force a witch to live at Brightwood; Selena threatens to cut Tir Alainn off from the rest of the living world by taking away the shining roads should any of the Fae try and force a witch to leave if they say no. Ashk senses something wrong with Morag and wants to know what it is and instead of answering, Morag makes her promise to do what needs to be done should she fail. Ashk agrees.
On Selkie Island, Jenny--the sister of Mihail--meets with the Lord of the Selkies so she can get firsthand reports of her brother returning with the family safely. Because Selena and Ashk are making the same demands, the rest of the Fae start helping out the humans and witches. Mihail and his family try to flee but Ubel's blockade holds them captive until Mihail starts a fire that blows up a good bit of the Inquisitor ships. He flees with Ubel on his trail. Lucian corners Aiden and uses magic to reveal that Ari's alive and well; in anger, Lucian burns Aiden's hands and runs Bretonwood with Morag hot on his heels, ready to kill Lucian. A foolish Inquisitor attacks Willowsbrook early and dies, but the men under the barons surrender as they refuse to follow them any longer (they did refuse before but were always hanged) when Selena and Gwynith arrive. Liam, Donovan and Varden figure out that Adolfo is a Fae offspring and is seeking revenge, even though Adolfo doesn't know his true parentage. Rhyann meets up with Ashk's group and heals Aiden. During a patrol, Selena and Liam get to know each other and start to become lovers, which is good for Falco and Breanna as they no longer have to endure Liam's remarks over them being lovers. Ubel bears down on Mihail when a bitch of a storm provided by Jenny arrives and shreds the Inquisitor ships to mulch while Sweet Selkie and the other fleeing ships arrive at Selkie Island intact. Ubel, the only survivor, is taken prisoner. Ashk and her party with enough Fae, Sons and Daughters of the House of Gaian, and humans arrive to help defend. Morag finally arrives in Bretonwood, a few minutes after Lucian does and sees him trying to force Ari to leave but Neall and Merle hold him off. Lucian wounds them and Ari, in anger, erects a circle of fire around Lucian. Before it can kill him, Morag rips Lucian's spirit from his body and drags him kicking and screaming to the Shadowed Veil and shoves him through it. Breanna finds her grandmother dead, poisoned by Jean who is jealous of Breanna because all the men talk and pay attention to her but not Jean. Jean runs away and is kidnapped by an Inquisitor who turns her over to Adolfo who turns her into a nighthunter. Ashk teases Selena about changing into her shadow hound form and Liam petting her in his room when Fiona tells them that Jean is missing.
Still in Bretonwood, Morag gets wind of Ubel being held in custody and his outrageous demands. She meets with him and his surviving underlings and rips their souls out of their bodies and leaves them there, ordering the bodies to be left where they fell. Adolfo releases his new nighthunters to slaughter Liam and anyone in Willowsbrook who stands in his way. Morphia puts them to sleep while the defenders attack, but Keely and the dog Idjit are killed. Ashk and Selena blanket the town in fog after the Inquisitors use catapults to try and bomb them out. Morphia tells Ashk that something evil will come out in the fog. Adolfo holds Rory as captive and is about to perform the nighthunter spell on him when Morag interrupts the whole thing. As a result, the spell backlashes onto Morag and Adolfo, turning them both into nighthunters at a fast pace. Breanna warns Ashk and Selena what Morag has become and also learn that the fighting has stopped everywhere, but Adolfo and his Inquisitors are still set on killing everyone at Willowsbrook and are marching there. The battle is on and Morag comes charging out, intent on killing. The Huntress and the Hunter demand that Adolfo show himself. He does and they send him to a special kind of hell, one that he created to inspire the men to join him. He becomes a nighthunter entirely and sets out eating and killing his Inquisitors. Ashk finds Morag who says she just wants to go home. Ashk kills her, much to Morphia's anger and shouting, and the nighthunter persona is lifted away and Ashk tells Morag not to stay away too long. As a spirit, Morag leads the dead to the Shadowed Veil. Morphia leaves the following day, unable to look at Ashk. Ashk hears that Ari's given birth to a healthy boy and the Crones arrive and redraw the boundaries of everyone, including the Fae's beliefs. Everyone parts ways with Falco staying with Breanna so she won't be alone; Selena also staying with Breanna so she doesn't intrude into Liam's home when his mother and youngest sister are also living there, but that doesn't mean they won't court; and Ashk points out to Aiden and Lyrra that when Ari has a baby daughter and looks into her eyes, she'll see Morag looking back. In the end, Aiden and Lyrra move to a small village where they're known for their dancing horse.
All in all, one hell of a fast paced novel that leaves plenty of room for character development and wraps up all the loose threads. Anne Bishop has mastered the fantasy world well that anyone picking up any of her books would instantly recognize it as a masterful piece of fantasy.
Ashk--the Green Lady of the Forest and Hunter, trains Neall in the ways of a Lord of the Forest. Morag--the Gatherer of Souls--questions whether she should've ended it back in Brightwood and killed the Master Inquisitor when she had the chance. Padrick tells the clan that because of Liam's absence and passionate speech, the vote to ultimately subject all women to become controlled by men has failed and that the Inquisitors have declared war. Gwynith, a friend of Ashk's and a Lady of the Moon, alerts Ashk to the fact that Dianna's power is waning and wants to be there when the next one is chosen. In the Mother's Hills, Selena and her sister Rhyann leave for Brightwood. Breanna, with Falco and Liam, meet Lucian who demands that Falco kidnap one of the witches living in Willowsbrook and take her to Ridgeley so Dianna can recover. Breanna says no with an arrow and tells him to get off her property and she doesn't care who he is. Liam escort Lucian back to the edge of town, an argument breaks out in which Liam says that the Fae are the Mother's spoiled children and demands to know why there aren't any witches at Brightwood. While Ashk and company leave for Willowsbrook, Adolfo finishes his torture and implied rape of a female Fae, trying to create the ultimate nighthunter. Selena arrives in time for the changing of the Moon's power. She dances for the Mother and wins the power from Dianna, who tries to kill Selena--now the Huntress and Lady of the Moon--in anger and hatred. She wounds Dianna and shows the rest what they're now dealing with: the Queen of the Witches, something that the Fae have also forgotten. Gwynith pledges her loyalty to Selena and lets her know that the Hunter is heading for Willowsbrook. Meanwhile, others have started arriving in Willowsbrook to prepare for the fight that has broken out in the north. Adolfo orders Ubel to take ten warships to the north and blockade the ports. In Tir Alainn, Lucian demands that Selena give her power back to his sister or that she force a witch to live at Brightwood; Selena threatens to cut Tir Alainn off from the rest of the living world by taking away the shining roads should any of the Fae try and force a witch to leave if they say no. Ashk senses something wrong with Morag and wants to know what it is and instead of answering, Morag makes her promise to do what needs to be done should she fail. Ashk agrees.
On Selkie Island, Jenny--the sister of Mihail--meets with the Lord of the Selkies so she can get firsthand reports of her brother returning with the family safely. Because Selena and Ashk are making the same demands, the rest of the Fae start helping out the humans and witches. Mihail and his family try to flee but Ubel's blockade holds them captive until Mihail starts a fire that blows up a good bit of the Inquisitor ships. He flees with Ubel on his trail. Lucian corners Aiden and uses magic to reveal that Ari's alive and well; in anger, Lucian burns Aiden's hands and runs Bretonwood with Morag hot on his heels, ready to kill Lucian. A foolish Inquisitor attacks Willowsbrook early and dies, but the men under the barons surrender as they refuse to follow them any longer (they did refuse before but were always hanged) when Selena and Gwynith arrive. Liam, Donovan and Varden figure out that Adolfo is a Fae offspring and is seeking revenge, even though Adolfo doesn't know his true parentage. Rhyann meets up with Ashk's group and heals Aiden. During a patrol, Selena and Liam get to know each other and start to become lovers, which is good for Falco and Breanna as they no longer have to endure Liam's remarks over them being lovers. Ubel bears down on Mihail when a bitch of a storm provided by Jenny arrives and shreds the Inquisitor ships to mulch while Sweet Selkie and the other fleeing ships arrive at Selkie Island intact. Ubel, the only survivor, is taken prisoner. Ashk and her party with enough Fae, Sons and Daughters of the House of Gaian, and humans arrive to help defend. Morag finally arrives in Bretonwood, a few minutes after Lucian does and sees him trying to force Ari to leave but Neall and Merle hold him off. Lucian wounds them and Ari, in anger, erects a circle of fire around Lucian. Before it can kill him, Morag rips Lucian's spirit from his body and drags him kicking and screaming to the Shadowed Veil and shoves him through it. Breanna finds her grandmother dead, poisoned by Jean who is jealous of Breanna because all the men talk and pay attention to her but not Jean. Jean runs away and is kidnapped by an Inquisitor who turns her over to Adolfo who turns her into a nighthunter. Ashk teases Selena about changing into her shadow hound form and Liam petting her in his room when Fiona tells them that Jean is missing.
Still in Bretonwood, Morag gets wind of Ubel being held in custody and his outrageous demands. She meets with him and his surviving underlings and rips their souls out of their bodies and leaves them there, ordering the bodies to be left where they fell. Adolfo releases his new nighthunters to slaughter Liam and anyone in Willowsbrook who stands in his way. Morphia puts them to sleep while the defenders attack, but Keely and the dog Idjit are killed. Ashk and Selena blanket the town in fog after the Inquisitors use catapults to try and bomb them out. Morphia tells Ashk that something evil will come out in the fog. Adolfo holds Rory as captive and is about to perform the nighthunter spell on him when Morag interrupts the whole thing. As a result, the spell backlashes onto Morag and Adolfo, turning them both into nighthunters at a fast pace. Breanna warns Ashk and Selena what Morag has become and also learn that the fighting has stopped everywhere, but Adolfo and his Inquisitors are still set on killing everyone at Willowsbrook and are marching there. The battle is on and Morag comes charging out, intent on killing. The Huntress and the Hunter demand that Adolfo show himself. He does and they send him to a special kind of hell, one that he created to inspire the men to join him. He becomes a nighthunter entirely and sets out eating and killing his Inquisitors. Ashk finds Morag who says she just wants to go home. Ashk kills her, much to Morphia's anger and shouting, and the nighthunter persona is lifted away and Ashk tells Morag not to stay away too long. As a spirit, Morag leads the dead to the Shadowed Veil. Morphia leaves the following day, unable to look at Ashk. Ashk hears that Ari's given birth to a healthy boy and the Crones arrive and redraw the boundaries of everyone, including the Fae's beliefs. Everyone parts ways with Falco staying with Breanna so she won't be alone; Selena also staying with Breanna so she doesn't intrude into Liam's home when his mother and youngest sister are also living there, but that doesn't mean they won't court; and Ashk points out to Aiden and Lyrra that when Ari has a baby daughter and looks into her eyes, she'll see Morag looking back. In the end, Aiden and Lyrra move to a small village where they're known for their dancing horse.
All in all, one hell of a fast paced novel that leaves plenty of room for character development and wraps up all the loose threads. Anne Bishop has mastered the fantasy world well that anyone picking up any of her books would instantly recognize it as a masterful piece of fantasy.
