The Making of a Bard - Ciaccona

Through the challenges that a hard world seems to thrust in their way, our three protagonists continue to develop their prowess as Wizardess, Bard, and Warrior.

Thistle, now a powerful White Wizardess, strives to understand the depths to which her use of energy can affect both good and evil. Facing powerful forces, she discovers how precious life can be. Jared struggles to accept the extraordinary ability he has to heal others through the miracle of the sounds he shapes. Ge-or, owing a debt to a comrade, finds himself deep in the southlands striving to win back a friend's leadership role in his tribe. These three companions continue to become more involved in the underlying currents of the Borean world as malevolent forces in the west gather, guided by the Great Black Druid, Aberon.

Magic: "Thistle spoke one word... Suddenly, a powerful wave of pure energy seemed to explode from her... the battlefield in front of the stockade's southern wall was obliterated, leaving only the earth, flat and unstained, behind." Music: "He started with a simple melody... a tune that seemed to evoke the wide-open spaces of the prairie. The tune permeated all... soothing, sensual, effervescent... it got deep and awoke a force to heal what they were fighting within their own bodies..." Might: "Ge-or's greatest strength was fighting with bladed weapons. He had never been matched, ever. Wielding the cudgel like a blade meant his repertoire of strokes had just expanded tremendously - for with a blade one slashed, stabbed, parried and blocked, spun and thrust..."
"Adeptly weaving multiple storylines into a rich narrative tapestry, this is character-driven fantasy adventure at its best." Kirkus Reviews - Book II, The Making of a Bard -- Gigue