Spellmonger Cadet

The Falcon's Call! From the moment Dara of Westwood spied the Silver Headed Raptor nesting in Rundeval Peak, the precocious redheaded 12-year-old girl was enchanted. The youngest daughter of the Master of the Wood lived in ramshackle Westwood Hall, in the independently minded Westwood estate of Sevendor. Her determination to capture a baby falcon and train it wasn't hampered by the fact that Dara had never climbed a mountain, had never been trained in falconry, or even remotely had permission from her father to do it. Dara wanted the falcon...and the only thing in her way was the mountain, an angry mother falcon, and her own fears. But the daring climb up Rundeval and actually capturing the fledgling falcon is just the beginning of her troubles. Actually learning falconry and training the willful bird is a responsibility she had barely considered. Worse, there is trouble afoot in the domain: A new lord has come to rule over Sevendor and all of her people, replacing the corrupt old Sir Erantal. While everyone welcomes the change, the new lord is a wizard: a magelord, the first of his kind in 400 years: Lord Minalan the Spellmonger. And he's not alone. He's brought thousands of oddly dressed Wilderlanders with him, families escaping the wars in the west...and settling in Sevendor. Within weeks of holding his first court as lord of Sevendor, the wizard's magic begins to cause problems. Magelord Minalan turns Sevendor Castle, the entire mountain of Rundeval, and a good portion of the Westwood - including Dara's home - into enchanted white stone when a spell goes unexpectedly awry one fateful night. As a result, Dara learns that she, too, may become a mage someday. Soon after she discovers that she can see through her falcon's eyes and share her thoughts, the talents of a beastmaster, opening up a brilliant new world for her. The folk of the valley have enough to eat for the first time in a generation, there are wizards all over Sevendor, and the castle glows with a magic light at night. The fortunes of the Westwood estate rise. But the Magelord finds foes as well as friends in Sevendor. Though prosperity flows from the Magelord's benevolent rule, the changes are frightening to some who have lost power since the Magelord came. Outside the Westwood, the other natives of the domain are upset by their magical lord and his strange new people, and there are whispers of rebellion. And outside of the domain, the neighboring lords, urged on by sinister forces, conspire to plunge Sevendor into war - with Dara and her family along with it! What can one girl and her falcon do? When the Magelord leaves on business and his enemies close in on her home, Dara discovers she may hold the answer to saving them all! The fate of the entire domain rests with Dara of Westwood, the girl they'll call the Hawkmaiden!

When Lenodara the Hawkmaiden - Dara, to her friends - was made an apprentice to the foremost wizard in the world, Minalan the Spellmonger, Magelord of her native land of Sevendor, she thought that the adventurous life was behind her. She looked forward to a long, boring career of learning how to read and taking magic lessons...but Dara's life as the Spellmonger's new apprentice is anything but boring! Within days of assuming her new duties, a goblin invasion in the distant land of Gilmora compels Minalan to gather his forces to repel it...and that means Dara, too. Her unique ability to use the ancient Alka Alon weapon, the Thoughtful Knife, may be the only way to thwart the invasion - and combat the dragons that have ravaged the castles of the land. But the battlefield is just the beginning of her new adventure, and she finds the aristocracy of the city of Barrowbell is as challenging as a goblin attack. But new adventures lead Dara to new friends in the unlikeliest of places on her way to becoming the Hawklady!

Lady Lenodara of Westwood, called the Hawkmaiden - Dara, to her friends - has had an adventurous life: She tamed a falcon when she was 12, learned she had magical talent, discovered that she had a natural aptitude as a beastmaster, won her witchstone at the first Spellmonger's Trial, became the junior apprentice to Minalan the Spellmonger, Magelord of Sevendor, mastered the ancient magic of the Thoughtful Knife, fought goblins and a dragon, and was made a noble and richly rewarded for her heroics. Now that she's safe back home in Sevendor, everything should go back to normal...right? But a secret project with the Alka Alon Emissary, Ithalia, leads Dara to new troubles and adventures, as the Hawkmaiden assumes new responsibilities. Lady Ithalia wants to use magic to transform her falcon, Frightful, into a giant, so that she and other giant hawks can defend the Five Duchies against dragons in the air. Each hawk is to be ridden by a Sky Rider to aid the fight - and Dara is to be the first. When Minalan purchases 20 hawks and hires a falconer to aid her efforts, Dara is tasked with building a mews to house them in the Westwood...and encounters her most difficult opponent yet: her father. Hawkmaiden vs. Master of the Wood, father vs. daughter, Castle Folk vs. Woodfolk, Dara has to choose sides and made compromises in order to see her task completed without bothering the Spellmonger. But fighting a dragon seems simple compared to challenging the Master of the Wood in his own land. With bandits milling around Sevendor and the threat of exposure for the giant falcon project, Dara has to learn new skills and understand an entirely different kind of magic if she's to become the first Sky Rider!