Finally!

 So, on the bright side, Mercedes Lackey's concluding Mage Winds novel, Winds of Fury finally has much more action than the preceding volumes. It also continues the buildup for the next trilogy.

Anyway, it starts off simply enough with Darkwind and Elsbeth preparing to return to Valdemar. What ends up happening is that everyoen, including Skif, Nyara, the gryphons, and Firesong wind up having their gate redirected to the Forest of Sorrows by Vanyel's ghost. 

Vanyel explains how his influence kept magic from the minds of Valdemar for several centuries, but with magic needed again, he's lifting that compulsion. It's also confirmed that the missing k'Sheyna heartstone is now in the basement of the Palace. 

All parties wind up in Haven, where we find out Karse has undergone some structural changes and is now allied with Valdemar against Hardorn. We also find out the vast Eastern Empire has agents in Hardorn. 

By the same token, Ancar, who's annoyed with Hulda (last seen trying to keep Elsbeth off the throne and torturing Talia), tries to open a gate, thinking it will somehow give him Adept level status. What ends up happening is that he releases Falconsbane from his prison in the void. However, we soon learn Falconsbane's trick up taking over members of his bloodline to resurrect himself, as well as getting confirmation he's an incarnation of the adepts Vanyel fought during his time. And lest we forget, his current body's former resident is still present and working with Dawnfire and Trevaylen to defeat Falconsbane once and for all. 

This eventually comes to a head late in the book, as the Heralds, Need, and the Taleydras ride to Hardorn for one final confrontation. 

Out of the three books in the trilogy, this is probably the best of them.

Moving towards a conclusion

In Mercedes Lackey's Winds of Change, we again are dealing with Darkwind and Elspeth and the K'Sheyna vale heartstone that Starblade sabotaged under the influence of Falconsbane. However, much like the first book, this one is a slow burn, mostly dealing with Skif and Darkwind's brother (Wintermoon) searching for Nyara and Need. Eventually, Firesong arrives from K'Treyva, and this begins the fun of healing the Heartstone. Which also serves to point out Falconsbane is still alive, given he's attacking Starblade. 

Anyway, the really big reveal comes towards the end, as the griffons admit that they're of Clan Kalid'a'in, the root of both the Shin'a'in and the Talyadras. 

Elspeth learns that she's descended from Vanyel, as is Firesong. 

The heartstone's energy winds up in Valdemar. 

This again, is kind of a slog until Falconsbane reappears in the last third. 

Fun, but slow.

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.