Terec could not see the magic, but he could feel it: heavy, weighted nets intended to catch every stray bit of magic and weave it into the beautiful totality that was called, in glorious simplicity, the Pax Astandalatis [loc. 42]
A short novella set in Goddard's Nine Worlds series, Terec and the Wild portrays the turning point in the life of Terec, who's a very minor character (though dear to a major character) in the central duology, The Hands of the Emperor and At The Feet of the Sun. Terec didn't ask to be gifted with power he's unable to control -- he typically wakes with his sheets singed, if not actually on fire -- or to shame his family by being a wild mage, feeling the magic of Astandalas and the Emperor as a yoke rather than a boon. He's determined to head north and leave the Empire, even though that means leaving behind his family and his beloved. Despite misjudgements, inclement weather and insufficient funds, he finds himself at the northern border, and witnesses the Wild calling to him.
Far, far too brief: allegedly the first in a trilogy (which together might make up a shortish novel), but the second part was due in 2022 and there's no sign of it yet. I did enjoy the story, but it feels very much like the first scene of a longer work.
Fulfils the ‘related to the word 'wild'’ rubric of the 52 books in 2024 challenge. I will probably also read a novel for this prompt, but just in case ...
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