Land Mysteries

In 1946, four second year students at Schola have challenges to face. Leo, Ros, Avigail, and Jasper need to make some key decisions about their lives. Being at the most elite of the schools of magic in Great Britain has advantages, but that doesn't mean everything comes easily. First, they have to figure out what they want to do and be when they grow up. It's a hard choice to make at fourteen. Next, second year is when Schola's secret societies pick new members, a decision that can change the course of a life. Third, there are all the ordinary challenges and joys of a school, ranging from dealing with other students to sports matches. Finally, it's 1946, with all the lingering effects of the Second World War, the changes it's brought, and the changes to come. These four friends come from different backgrounds, sharing some skills but not others. None of them want what society assumes they do. It's a new world and they have some ideas of their own. “The Magic of Four” is full of friendship, surprises, commitments, and a great deal of magic. It takes place in the magical community of Great Britain in the wake of the Second World War, from the perspective of young adults who have a good idea what their parents did during the war years and what that cost. The last book in the “Land Mysteries” series, “The Magic of Four” includes a number of characters who have appeared in other Celia Lake books, but can be read in any order. Unlike most Albion books, this is not a romance-after all, they're all fourteen.

In May of 1945, as the war in Europe is coming to an end, three women can turn their attention to an old and lingering problem. Lizzie never met her brother-in-law, Temple. He died in 1922, in what she and her husband now know was a desperate attempt to stop further damage to the land magic. No one has been able to figure out what damaged Temple's magic or why he'd insisted on such self-destructive choices. Lizzie hasn't, her husband Geoffrey hasn't, and neither have their friends who are experts in a dozen relevant fields. Now, as the demands of the war begin to ease, Lizzie asks Alysoun and Thesan - their friends and allies - to help her solve the mystery. She hopes that Alysoun's clear-sighted experience and Thesan's ability to see hidden patterns will be enough of a help. Perhaps together they can finally find and make sense of long-hidden information and do their best to make sure this sort of tragedy never happens again. Three Graces is a novella tackling the long-standing question of what happened to Temple Carillon and brought him to his death in 1922. It is full of intelligent friends supporting each other, the changes that come with the end of the war, and navigating a new world. It is best read in series sequence, as it draws on a number of situations during the Second World War and its impact on Albion.