There is news on the wind. It will come ere April's end. Will you sail with me on seas uncharted and fly on the fifth wind?

Seasparrow, a new Graceling book

Yep, I might have known. The old book series refuse to end, and thus this November we get yet another adventure with old friends. A new book in Graceling Realm Series, Seasparrow is a direct sequel to Winterkeep and this time we see through Hava's Graceling eyes as the group has a typically trying time getting back to Monsea with what could equally be called a treasure and a deathtrap. Regardless, it will be a deep pleasure seeing Bitterblue, Giddon, Hava, and hopefully Lovisa and Adventure Fox.

Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, new trailer and new expectations

Well, the new trailer for Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes just took our old assumptions and stabbed them.

Seems like Byleth is our foe this time instead of the player-avatar. Beyond that, I did some digging and learned the following:

1. That red-eyed white-faced new character at 2:41 is "A mysterious being that appeared in the protagonist's dream. Rescued the protagonist before they were killed by the Ashen Demon and speaks to them as if living in their head. Occasionally acts as if something's missing."
2. Shez is "A solitary mercenary. He / she sought to become a famed swordsman, but faced Jeralt’s Mercenaries on a mission and was felled by the Ashen Demon. While training to seek revenge, he / she met the Officer’s Academy students in the woods."
3. 
   Nintendo has updated its official overview of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes with the latest information, part of which is "Align with a leader to build and command an army in 1 vs. 1,000-style battles and deep strategy. The house you choose will bring you through one of three compelling stories, each with a different outcome."

So, judging from the full cover of the game coupled with what we just learned, I think Sothis may be a foe this time too, and this does not look like a Happy Ending story-route like Revelations was for Fates, but rather a new Warriors version of Three Houses. Not another route, but an alternate version of the game entirely, with Byleth and Sothis on the enemy side and Shez and red-eyed guy on the good. Regardless, I shall stand with Edelgard in the Scarlet Blaze route just as I did her in Crimson Flower.

There is news on the wind. The crimson-eyed captain knows the Spell of Light, allowing his red ship to approach the shore unnoticed.

The Dawn Will Come (Dragon Age: Inquisition) – Cover in Ukrainian – Зійде зоря

Shadows fall
And hope has fled
Steel your heart
The dawn will come

The night is long
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come

The Shepard's lost
And his home is far
Keep to the stars
The dawn will come

The night is long
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come

Bare your blade
And raise it high
Stand your ground
The dawn will come

The night is long
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come

I just started Escape from Falaise, book #5 of the Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger series by John Flanagan

I just started Escape from Falaise, book #5 of the Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger series by John Flanagan.

 

A prince rescuing the damsel-in-distress from an evil lord's tower is tired old trope, which is why Flanagan is turning it around and upside down here, for the now Princess Ranger Maddie and Will must not only rescue a prince-in-peril from just such a place, but themselves as well. I love rescue mission and daring escapes as a rule, but when the two combine... heh, that promises to be quite the ride.

I just finished Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix, prequel to his Abhorsen series

Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?

I just finished Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix, prequel to his Abhorsen series, telling the tale of Sabriel's parents. To paraphrase Elinor herself, it is the tale of a girl who, though ignorant of her magical heritage and without known family, is swept up onto a path rich in pain and love, loss and hope, until she finds both her place and lasting love in the Old Kingdom with the Abhorsen. A tale that makes the story of their daughter, Sabriel, all the richer. A tale that, in typical Nix fashion, has a heart-stopping climax.

Sabriel

As ever, tis a joy returning to the Old Kingdom, a land that is almost as near to my heart as Middle-earth, for Abhorsens' the never-ending battle to keep the Dead down shaped me in key ways, forming a central crux of what I call the Fantasy morality.

Farewell Terciel & Elinor, Tizanael, Mirelle of the Clayr, and, of course, Mogget. Until next time, for the Ninth Gate no bar to my reading.

 

Everyone and everything has a time to die.