Mage Quest continues the adventure begun in Erinsmore. A fast-paced and fun fantasy tale for all ages – join Ruby and her friends on a quest all over that magical land of sword and sorcery, and explore the whole of Erinsmore from the back of a dragon…
For six long years, Ruby has longed to return to Erinsmore. Desperately lonely, her only solace is talking to her old friend Mick about her time in that fantastical land and the sister she left behind. Likewise, thirteen-year-old Finley Smith knows what it means to be lonely. Isolated because of his mother’s addictions, after her death, he is sent to live with a previously unknown uncle, Mick. Finley initially settles in well, but his curiosity is aroused by the mysterious red-headed woman who visits his uncle to talk about something or somewhere called Erinsmore. Finley follows Ruby home one evening, his interest reaching unbearable limits, through a strange shimmering portal and into a mysterious new world. Struggling to understand what has happened to him, Finley has to cope with the shocking discovery that he and Ruby are in the magical land of Erinsmore.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I don’t know! I don’t know where here is.”
Overcome with joy to be back, Ruby discovers that although only six years have passed for her, twenty-one years have elapsed in Erinsmore whilst she was gone. Ruby’s sister, Cassie, is now a woman of forty and Colwyn – the prince Cassie stayed behind to be with – is now king. Ruby is also surprised to find she is an aunt to eighteen-year-old twins. Despite this, Ruby is thrilled to be reunited with old friends and to be back in the land she has dreamt of for so long. Erinsmore is at peace, the war with Lorcan almost forgotten about, but there is one small concern. Ruby’s niece, the Heir Apparent to the Dragon Throne, has yet to find her mage and it is feared they were killed as a child in the war. In every generation, a mage is born with extraordinary powers. Destined to be the soulmate of the Heir to the throne, it is a tradition that stretches back to the first dragon lords.
“We’re afraid that her mage was killed as a baby during the war, maybe by the Gilmesh. Or perhaps their parents were killed before the mage could be conceived.”
Agreeing to accompany her niece and nephew on their quest to discover the missing mage, Ruby is introduced to the twins’ bodyguard, Merric. Sensing an immediate connection with this dark, handsome stranger, Ruby discovers that Merric was also trapped in the tower when Ruby was Lorcan’s prisoner. Then he was only eight years old, now he is a grown man of almost thirty. During a grand ball to commemorate the twins coming of age and the initiation of the princess as Colwyn’s heir, the celebrations are interrupted by the arrival of the strange seer Gisling. The crone has made the long journey from the Eastern Woods to give Ruby a dark warning and tells her to – seek the guidance of the one who speaks with owls. Merric declares that he believes this to be Xem, the mysterious healer who has an owl companion, and the group set off on their quest to find them and the mage.
“Do you not taste the thrill of the unknown in the wind? Destiny beckons and we fly to meet it head-on.”
Travelling across Erinsmore on the back of the three mighty dragons – Iliana, Ishma, and Izaak – this little band of unlikely adventurers will face danger, mystery, and fantastical creatures from other worlds. Bonding together, they learn to depend on each other as they discover one another’s strengths – and weaknesses. Aware of a growing attraction to the chivalrous Merric, Ruby wonders what it is about this man that fascinates her so. Why is their connection so strong? And why can they communicate telepathically? Crossing vast distances, the group search the four corners of Erinsmore. From the peaceful sanctuary of Lady Island in the far south, to the bleak and inhospitable Far Isles in the utter north, and beyond. Always seeking clues as to the whereabouts of the missing mage, they must battle enemies old and new, until at last a foe even more powerful than Lorcan is encountered.
“None of it matters, for my armies await on the other side of a portal, and once they are through, this world will not stand a chance.”
If her mage is to be located, the princess must draw deeply upon her powers and use the tenuous connection she has to them. With the help of Xem, the princess will discover that sometimes the truth can be stranger than anything ever imagined. Will she get her happy ending and find her soulmate? Will Ruby and Merric embrace their destiny? And what of young Finley? When the adventure is over, will he wish to return to London and his uncle Mick, or will he wish to remain in Erinsmore?
“If your heart is truly here in Erinsmore, then Mick won’t remember you. He’ll never know he ever had a nephew named Finley, or a friend named Ruby, or that he is a good friend to Erinsmore.”
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