And now a return to theme

 I finished up Mercedes Lackey's finale of Darian's Tale yesterday, which more or less brought the overall themes of leaving home to find home full circle in the end. 

Owlknight opens on K'Valdemar Vale and Errold's Grove 4 years after the arrival of the Ghost Cat Clan, who are now part of the metroplex in the northwest corner of Valdemar. Word comes from Haven that a Herald Mage and his assistant (Keisha's sister Shandi) are being permanently posted in the area. As such, the local powers decided to perform several Rites when Herald Anda arrives to show that Darian is on equal footing. While much of this is amusing (including the sentient equine dyheli king stag offering to perform the rite to make Darian his "prime doe"), it really just serves to set up the second half. As such, we see Darian having visions of Ghost Cat and a Raven totem, having a feather found in the sweatlodge in from of Darian, and some other subtle hints that Darian might find his parents among the Raven Tribe. (They find part of his father's foot outside of a change circle, and a little magic suggests the original owner is still alive.) 

So, the second half mainly involves our major characters posing as dye merchants, riding through the north, with Keisha training healers in the various tribes as she goes. We meet several tribes, and run into an ocean. We find Darian's parents, among the Raven people, who are under siege from the Wolverines, who also absorbed the remains of Blood Bear, who we last saw at the end of the first book. Given this is Lackey, the outcome of that confrontation is never in doubt, however, Darian must contend with his definition of Home, versus the expectation that his parents have of him and Keisha joining the Raven tribe with them. 

That emotional resolution rings truer than almost anything Lackey has ever written, even if it is truncated. 

While I have enjoyed rereading this series, I will say that the ending seems rushed, as we close on everyone in Raven, and a 3 page epilogue set back in the Vale. 

But still, it's a really fun series.