Can you paint with the colors of the wind?

 So, as a heads up, while I enjoy Mercedes Lackey and have read all of her Valdemar book (minus the anthologies), Winds of Fate (Book 1 of The Mage Winds) winds up being my least favorite book in the series. I mean, it's a good book, eventually, but it's a slog to get to the good stuff.

Half the problem is that we spend roughly 3/4 of the book getting our two major focus characters together. One, Elspeth, we already know of thanks to the previous 4 books in the "modern" setting. The other, Darkwind, marking the Hawkbrother's first appearance in Valdemar since Vanyel's time, Is an Adept mage who has turned from magic following the tragedy that followed the attempt to move his Clan's Vale and Heartstone.  

So, for Espeth, we start with her and Skif convincing Valdemar's council to let them go off to find either an Adept Mage or get someone to train them in Magic to help repel Ancar's Hardornen conquest attempts. Which takes the involvement of the Companions to get off the ground without protest. Kerowyn gives Elspeth the Magesword Need to help along the way. Elspeth quickly realizes that the Companions are in her words, trying to turn her into a fated hero. As such, she gets annoyed and takes them all to the Dorshia Plains to find Shin'a'in training, rather than getting training in Rethwellan. This does eventually wind up with the Shin'a'in leading her and Skif obliquely to the Pelagirs. 

Darkwind, in the mean time, serves on the k'Sheyna council of Elders as the speaker for the scouts. Problem is, his Father is the head Mage, and Starblade is a bit annoyed with his son. That Starblade is also being controlled by the Adept Mornelithe Falconsbane doesn't come out until later. Darkwind is also guarding Treyvon and Hydona, two griffons scouts who are living adjacent to the Vale. He also manages to pick up the catlike Nyara, who is also a double agent for Falconsbane. 

Anyway, when everyone eventually meets up, it turns into a showdown with Falconsbane, involves some Shin'a'in shaman who we met earlier, and sets up Elspeth's training as the first Herald-Mae since Vanyel. It just takes a bunch of angst to get there. 

So, yeah. Not my favorite, but it does set up the rest of the trilogy quite well.