Suddenly, a mystical white stallion with sparking sapphire eyes appears to save her!īut, of course, he could not possibly be there to save her. Talia says she doesn’t want to get married,she wants to be a Herald and runs away, crying, wishing she could figure out a way to save herself and to help other people. Her family hates her and one day, the chief wife tells her that she will be married off. They also always wear white, and are unironically called Whites.īack when I was a wee Vom, living in the rinky dink Midwest hellhole of conservatism, I ran across Lackey’s first series, the Arrows trilogy (Arrows of the Queen, Arrows Flight, Arrows Fall), which follows the adventures of a young girl named Talia who is raised among conservative Christians I mean, ahem, Holderkin, who believe that as soon as they’re menstruating fairly regularly (about thirteen) women must either marry or go into the Church, women are inherently inferior,a single man should have several wives, women should be barely literate, etc etc.Īnyway, Talia is different and loves to read. They cannot be corrupted or bribed, and the Companions always choose wisely.

Heralds are, by nature, good people who sacrifice themselves and use their gifts (including special empathy or mindspeech or firestarting Gifts) for the good of the kingdom. The choosing creates a special mystical bond between the Herald and the Companion.

Large white magical horses with sapphire blue eyes and special powers, called Companions, “choose” people to become Heralds. Her most famous works take place in the fantasy-country Valdemar, which is ruled by a Monarch and a group of people called Heralds. For those who don’t know, Mercedes Lackey is a best-selling fantasy author.

Arrow's Flight by Mercedes Lackey