Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey

 

Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey - 351 pages

Last Herald Mage #3

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Valdemar—the once-peaceful kingdom protected by the magic of its Herald-Mages—is now besieged on all fronts. The king lies near death, the neighboring land of Karse wages a relentless war against Valdemar, and the forces led by a master of dark forbidden magic are massing to strike the final devastating blow against the kingdom.
 
And Vanyel, the most powerful Herald-Mage Valdemar has even known, has become the primary target of the evil which is reaching out to poison all the land.
 
With all his fellow mages slain, Vanyel alone remains to defend his people against the dark master’s army. Yet a dream vision has revealed to Vanyel the fate which awaits should he and his Companion Yfandes take up the dark master’s challenge.
 
And if either Vanyel or Yfandes falters, the dream will become a horrifying reality in which both Valdemar and its last Herald-Mage must pay the ultimate price.

Magic's Promise by Mercedes Lackey

 

Magic's Promise by Mercedes Lackey - 320 pages

Last Herald Mage #2

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Wild magic is taking its toll on the land. Many Heralds and Herald-Mages have died fighting to preserve the peace. Even Vanyel, the most powerful of the Herald-Mages is almost at the end of his strength, in need of a respite from the dual threats of war and dark magic.

But for Vanyel, there can be no rest. Not when his Companion, Yfandes, receives a summons which can’t be ignored—a desperate cry of a magical holocaust in the neighboring kingdom. Almost overwhelmed by the devastations they discover there, Herald-Mage and Companion must try to unravel this tragic mystery.

Is the young Prince Tashir, a newly Chosen Herald who can’t control his magic, responsible for the destruction? Or is Tashir a pawn in a deeper, more deadly game—and, if so, will Vanyel be able to find and defeat the true destroyer before this master of dark powers can strike again?

Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey

Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey - 349 pages

Last Herald-Mage #1

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Though Vanyel has been born with near-legendary abilities to work both Herald and Mage magic, he wants no part of such things. Nor does he seek a warrior's path, wishing instead to become a Bard. Yet such talent as his if left untrained may prove a menace not only to Vanyel but to others as well. So he is sent to be fostered with his aunt, Savil, one of the famed Herald-Mages of Valdemar.

But, strong-willed and self-centered, Vanyel is a challenge which even Savil can not master alone. For soon he will become the focus of frightening forces, lending his raw magic to a spell that unleashes terrifying wyr-hunters on the land. And by the time Savil seeks the assistance of a Shin'a'in Adept, Vanyel's wild talent may have already grown beyond anyone's ability to contain, placing Vanyel, Savil, and                                                             Valdemar itself in desperate peril...

The Last Herald Mage series by Mercedes Lackey

Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey - 349 pages
Magic's Promise by Mercedes Lackey - 320 pages
Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey - 351 pages
The Last Herald Mage series

Vanyel Ashkevron is the most famous Herald in Valdemar's history.  This is his story from first arriving in Haven, meeting his love Tylendel, becoming a Herald-Mage, reconciling with his family, and his final battle with an evil magician determined to take over Valdemar.

I love the Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey.  Since being in quarantine limits my books I determined to re-read the Valdemar series as they are some of the few books I actually own.  I would highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys fantasy.