Fire Study
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Fire Study is a 2008
2008 in literature
The year 2008 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*January 1 - In the 2008 New Year Honours, Hanif Kureishi , Jenny Uglow , Peter Vansittart and Debjani Chatterjee are all rewarded for "services to literature".*June 15 - Gore Vidal, asked in a New York Times...

 fantasy novel written by Maria V. Snyder
Maria V. Snyder
Maria V. Snyder is an American fantasy author best known for her Study Series of books. Her first novel, Poison Study was published October 2005, and won the 2006 Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel.-Awards:...

. Fire Study is the third and final book in a three book series.

Summary

Yelena and friends set off to capture Cahil and Ferde, the soul stealer, only to find that they are not the biggest threat to Sitia anymore. A clan of magicians using Blood magic is trying to take over the Citadel and they will kill anybody that stands in their way. But with the possibility of someone close to her being a traitor and the added stress of finding out what it means to be a Soul finder, Yelena may not be able to stop the Fire Warper from taking control of Sitia. Especially when her loyalty is tested and she may have to pick a side with the possibility of a war between Sitia and Ixia on the horizon.

Characters

Yelena Liana Zaltana - Main Heroine, 21 years old.She was born in Sitia, kidnapped as a child and raised in an orphanage in Ixia. After killing her rapist she was sentenced to death, only to get a reprieve by becoming the commander’s food taster. She learned to fight due to the constant threat to her life. When she returned to Sitia to study her magic she discovered that she is what they call a Soulfinder. This is something that many people in Sitia are afraid of because their history says Soulfinders were power hungry murderers. She is agile and flexible and was an acrobat when she lived at Brazell's orphanage. She comes from the Zaltana in Sitia that lives in the tree tops so she learned to climb at a young age. She is caught between her family and friends in Sitia, and her friends and lover, Valek, in Ixia. Yelena is a person who comforts everybody who is in need of it, as she demonstrates many times, but she also has a will to live that overpowers her, and sometimes makes her a little reckless, and it seems that trouble always finds her. In the end, she is so smart and educated that she always finds a way around the obstacles.

Valek - The master assassin of Ixia and in charge of both Ixia's security Commander Ambrose's . He is immune to magic and is the soulmate of the Soulfinder aka. Yelena. He is 33 years old.

Commander Ambrose (Ambrosia) -The Commander has the power over all of Ixia, it never corrupts him. He is a fair and logical man who doesn’t discriminate against men or women. He dislikes Magic and Magicians but he cares for his people, and ensures that they have everything they need to survive. He has a distaste for opulence and waste.

Ari - He's strong, intelligent and skilled in everything he does. He loves Yelena as a little sister, and took on the role as Yelena's protector early in the first book. He's good with a sword and close-up combat sports, he taught Yelena how to fight and defend herself. Ari is the opposite of his friend Janco, who sometimes drive him crazy, but Ari would never think about replacing him, and he doesn't trust anyone else to have his back.

Janco – He is a witty and quick guy, who loves a good fight and talk. He is known to be a prankster, and many people underestimate him are taken by surprise by his skills.Ari is the adult to Janco’s childish ways. He may seem like a carefree guy who have no worries, but if you threaten one of his friends you can be sure to get on his bad side. He is the annoying older brother figure to Yelena throughout the books.

Maren - She is an Advisor to the Commander. She is a great fighter who with the help of Janco and Ari taught Yelena how to defend herself in the first book. She is now working under Valek and helping him in the spy network. She Helps Yelena escape from Sitia and gain an audience with the commander.

Kiki - Is Yelena’s horse. She is a Sandseed horse who was raised on the Avibian plains. She is multi-coloured white and brown with blue eyes. She and Yelena can speak to each other using magic.

Irys Jewelrose - Is the Fourth Magician and she is also Yelena’s friend and mentor.

Bain Bloodgood - He is the Second Magician. He loves history and teaching students, and doesn’t enjoy the political life as much so his mission is to train the younger generation. He is a supporter of Yelena learning to use her Soulfinder powers.

Roze Featherstone - Is the First Magician. She was Leif’s mentor. She believes she knows what is best for the country of Sitia and that does not include Yelena the Soulfinder. She is Yelena’s main antagonist. She is later revealed to be the leader of the Daviian clan, a Soulstealer who is also named Jal. She is the one who freed the Fire Warper and learned how to use blood magic.

Dax Greenblade - One of Yelena’s friends from the magicians Keep. He is the student of Bain Bloodgood. He helps Yelena try to learn about her new powers. He also helped her fight Ferde and save Gelsi in Magic Study.

Leif Zaltana - Yelena’s older brother. He witnessed her kidnapping when he was about 8 years old and he never stopped blaming himself. He later directed the anger he had at himself towards Yelena, convincing himself that she had been corrupted by Ixia and was spying for Valek. They fixed their differences in Magic Study and he follows Yelena in her quest to stop Ferde and the Fire Warper. He and Yelena don’t always see eye to eye but he follows her when they are in trouble because he sees that she is a leader.
Leif is often seen joking with Yelena in the Glass series, making it clear they caught up with the light teasing of siblings.

Perl Zaltana - Yelena and Leif’s mother. She is usually afraid to leave her house but when Yelena returns she sees that fear shouldn’t stop you from doing what needs to be done. Her family usually tries to protect her but when her family is in trouble her help is often the reason that they are able to make it out of danger. She makes perfumes and uses a distillery to make pure samples of the things her husband brings home. She is also good at cursing people.

Esau Zaltana - Yelena and Leif’s Father. He travels through Sitia gathering information on plants and animals. He usually figures out what the plants and animals can be used for and then sells them at the market. Leaves to stop headaches, syrup to stop nausea, etc. He discovered Curare.

Moon Man - Yelena’s Story Weaver. He is a Sandseed elder. He is usually annoying because he doesn’t give straight answers he likes to sound mysterious. He is a great warrior.

Marrok - He is a tracker that was a General in the King's army before the Commander took over Ixia. He raised Cahil to think that he was the King’s family. He was beaten by Cahil at the end of Magic Study to learn the truth about his lineage. He travels with Yelena and her group to stop Ferde and the Fire Warper.

Cahil - He is the leader of a small army. He thought that he had royal blood and then learned different. He hates Valek and Yelena for their love and because they support Ixia’s current government. He believes that Roze will help him take over Ixia. He freed Ferde and helped the Daviian clan kidnap magical children from Ixia to use in their blood rituals.

Ferde - The soul stealer from magic study. He killed 11 people and stole their souls before Yelena was able to stop him. He had captured Tula and stolen her soul, Yelena managed to find her soul and put back in her body but then he killed Tula for revenge. He had also captured and tortured Gelsi but with the help of Valek, Dax and Fisk, Yelena rescued her.

Tula - One of the girls that was raped and tortured by Ferde. She was family of the Third Magician and the sister of Opal. She was healed both mentally and physically by Yelena only to be killed later in the second book.

Opal - Is the sister of Tula. She was kidnapped by Alea Daviian, and when Yelena came to rescue her she drugged her with Curare so that Alea Daviian could torture her. She lives with her family in Booruby and she uses her magic to make Glass animals. She helps Yelena capture the Souls of the Warpers in glass sculptures at the end of the third book.

Gale Stormdance - She is the kidnapped wife of a council member. She used magic to save Valek and her own life when the barn collapsed. She helps fight the Daviian Vermin.

Bavol Zaltana - Is Yelena’s kinsman. He is the Council man for the Zaltana clan and stays at the Citadel during the cool season.

Chestnut Zaltana - Is Yelena’s cousin. He is the older brother of Nutty. He is able to use a drum to talk to the necklace snakes. He helps Yelena and her friends save Esau and the other Zaltana scouts from the Daviian clan members.

Hazelnut 'Nutty' Zaltana - She is Yelena’s younger cousin. She is good at making clothes and she sells them at the market. She often makes clothes for Yelena that are skirts with pants under them.

Plot summary

After the events of Magic Study
Magic Study
Magic Study is a 2006 fantasy novel written by Maria V. Snyder, the second book in the Study series. The series is about a girl named Yelena who was kidnapped as a child from her home in Sitia from the Zaltana clan, who are strong in magic...

, Yelena creates a partnership with Irys to help explore her abilities. However Cahil and Ferde are still a threat. Her learning is cut short after getting a mysterious message from Moon Man saying he has found what they are looking for.

She takes Leif along with her and soon meets up with the Sandseed people including her story weaver, Moon Man. They have found the Diviian camp so all the Sandseed warriors have gathered to exterminate the vermin. However things are not as they seem and the Diviian vermin get away. She travels with Moon Man, Leif, Marrok, and Tauno all over Sitia to try to find Cahil and Ferde.

On her search Yelena encounters the Fire Warper, a soul from the underworld who wants to get to the sky so he can control Sitia and Ixia. After following the trail through the Avibian plains, the Diviian plateau, the Zultana jungle and Booruby they finally find Cahil and Ferde and have to fight them.

While in battle Yelena goes into Ferde’s mind to have him turn against his back up and shoot paralytic darts at the other bad guys. While in there she also searches for information causing his soul to shred. They send Leif and Marrok back to the Citadel with the prisoners while Yelena, moon man and Tauno return back to the Sandseed camp to find that the Diviian’s have taken over and killed or enslaved the Sandseed people. So the group retreats back to the Citadel.

When they get back to the citadel, there are Daviian vermin walking freely in the streets and Yelena finds out that Cahil claims he has been working on a secret mission and the first magician, Roze, is backing up his story. She also finds that she is in trouble because everyone is afraid of her because she shred Ferde’s soul. She is then told she must stay out of Sitian affairs and learn about being a soul finder from Gede Sandseed. When she goes to Gede he makes moon man walk into a fire and forces Yelena to follow him into the fire because he says she is the only one who can stop the Fire Warper in the fire lands of hell. She is saved by Leif who says that Valek sent him and they must run from the Citadel and wait for Valek in the woods.

Confused she mentally contacts Irys who tells her that Marrok has confessed to the council that he was working with Leif and Yelena to help the Diviian clan get support from Ixia to start a war. There for the council has ordered the execution of both Yelena and Leif. Valek meets them and tells them to return to Ixia and tell the commander what is going on. Then he leaves to take care of some things in the Citadel. While Leif and Yelena are crossing the border into Ixia they are joined by Moon Man, Marrok and Tauno. Marrok has been mentally messed with and when Yelena tries to fix him she finds Roze in his mind who tells her that one of them is a spy and now she knows where Yelena is and she will not be safe in Ixia. When they get into Ixia they are taken to the barracks of the officers and Yelena meets Maren who is now an adviser. The General of the area doesn’t plan on letting them get to the commander so Maren helps them get to the next station and gives her some escorts.

When they arrive and Yelena is able to talk to commander Ambrose she tells him that the Sitians are thinking about attacking but that they are being controlled by either magic or physical means. The commander then shows her a scroll sent to him by the Sitians saying that Yelena and her friends are dangerous fugitives who should be killed on sight. It has been signed by all the council and the Magicians except Irys and Bain. The commander offers her the chance to become his adviser and refuge for the rest of their group but no decision is made before Valek returns. The commander sees the bat that Opal gave to Yelena and sees the light inside so Yelena thinks that the commander must have magic as well. The commander then asks if she sees Opal again then she get one for the commander.

After having dinner with the commander Leif asks Yelena what is wrong with her she has been acting different since coming to Ixia he doesn’t think she is being the neutral 3rd party adviser she should be but she asks him how she can advise when one land wants her killed. She then tries to contact Irys but Roze feels her and tells her that Iris and Bain have been imprisoned for treason and are in the Keep’s Cells.

When Valek returns with Ari and Janco they tell the commander and Yelena’s group that the Citadel is being overrun with Warpers who are using magic. Valek says that he has a plan and that they will have to help Yelena because to assassinate the council right now would just send the whole country of Sitia to war against Ixia. After the meeting Valek and Yelena talk about what could be happening to make so many Warpers because if the clans in Sitia were missing people then they would notice. They make plans to leave and return to Sitia. Shortly after Yelena runs into Porter, the commanders Kennel master. He tells her that she may be able to help him and so he asks her to meet him at his house. When she gets there she discovers that Porter has been running a secret underground railroad to smuggle magical children out of the country before Valek can find them and kill them for the commander. However, trouble has found him because the past several children he sent have gone missing. He wants to know if Valek has found him and if his operation has been compromised. Yelena agrees to help him after things settle down and she also agrees to teach the children he already has to better control their gifts so he doesn’t have to send them away before she can find out what is going on.

On her way back to the castle from Porters she is drugged by Star. When she regains consciousness she can tell she is being transported but they keep her drugged. Finally she is left to become conscious and she wakes to Cahil who says that he has kept his promise to find someone to defeat her and Valek. He is taking her to Jal and the Fire Warper. She asks what he gets out of the arrangement and he says when she is killed he will get to see Valek suffer before he is killed and Cahil reclaims the Ixian throne. She is able to push the drugs they give her out of her system with her magic, creating the ability to escape but she realizes that the two girls from Porters house have been kidnapped as well and without any weapons she has to leave without them. Valek and Kiki, her horse, come and help her escape. When they reach a safe house Valek tells her that he allowed her to be kidnapped in order to find out where star was taking the girls. This causes a fight between Yelena and Valek and when they go back to get the girls they have already died. However Yelena is able to catch their souls and release them before the Warpers can collect their power.

Valek and Yelena then continue on to the Citadel and when they get there Yelena goes to the market she stays for 2 days while trying to get in contact with the Zultana clan council member. She finds out that the council members all had their family members stolen from them. That is why they have done everything the Diviian clan has told them to do. Yelena and Bovol return to Valek’s safe house and she contacts his daughter through him when she finds out where the family members are being held she is pulled out of the girls mind and pushed outside where the barn holding Kiki is on fire. Yelena runs into the fire to save Kiki but she is pulled into the Fire world to talk to the Fire Warper. He makes a deal with Yelena that if she captures a soul and then goes to him so that the 3 of them can get into the sky then when the Fire Warper becomes human again she and all her family and friends will be favored by him and he will save their lives and stop all the other Warpers and Cahil and Jal. Yelena reluctantly agrees but wants to try to find another way. When she returns to the living world she and Valek share a tender moment where she apologizes and admits to being afraid of her powers and wants to protect her loved ones from her. She also has a new animal friend who clings to her, a bat that she saw in the fire world. Ari and Janco then show up with Moon Man, Leif, Marrok, and Tauno and they formulate a plan. Yelena, Valek, Marrok, and Tauno are going to track the kidnapped family members down and rescue them while Moon Man and Leif try to find a way into the Keep and Ari and Janco organize a rebellion in the Citadel.

While separated and trying to save the kidnapped victims Yelena, Valek, and Marrok are drugged by Tauno. Valek and Yelena are forced to fight Tauno and the other vermin but before the last Warper is killed he sets the Barn that the Kidnapped victims are in on fire. Valek goes inside and Yelena gets Kiki and Topaz to kick the Barn wall in and the children and one adult man are able to escape before the ceiling collapses. Yelena and Marrok take the kidnapped people to a safe house and then return to the rendezvous point. ON the way she stops by Opals and buys more of her glass animals so that she can talk to the magicians when she goes to the other worlds. They have to tell the rest of the people that Valek didn’t make it and then Leif tells everyone that Moon man got captured. So they formulate a plan to get into the Citadel and Storm the Keep so they can release everyone who has been captured. Yelena spends the night seeing ghosts and she collects their souls and sends them to the sky. This she can do without using her magical energy.

While getting ready to get through the citadel by hiding in merchandise boxes Valek shows up with Gale Weatherstorm and explains that when the roof collapsed it sent them into the basement and they were able to survive because Gale used her magic to create a bubble of air. So with every one united again they set off to stop the Warpers and Vermin. When they get into the Citadel they are stopped by Cahil who tells them that he wants to help them stop Jal and the Warpers because he doesn’t like the way they are gaining power by killing and he was just a tool they planned on using until they didn’t need him anymore. Yelena doesn’t trust him but since Jal already knows they are in the Citadel and they want to get into the Keeps prison any ways she agrees. As a sign of good faith Cahil tells them that Jal is really Roze.

When Yelena gets to Roze the rebellion starts and all the magicians in the citadel and the people start to fight the Vermin and Warpers but they have too much power and they begin to lose the fight. Roze Kills Moon Man to show Yelena how much power she actually possesses. So Yelena jumps into the fire to talk to the Fire Warper. With the Help of Moon Man Yelena is able to collect all the souls and send them where they belong into the Sky which is actually the blanket of magical power. She is then able to pull the souls out of all the Warpers including Roze and they lose their power. Then the resistance is able to capture Roze and the other Diviian vermin and they are charged with treason and murder and they hang. Yelena then takes the souls of all the Warpers, including Roze and the Fire Warper, and breathes them into the glass animals that Opal makes. This way they are trapped and can never use the blood magic again or help anyone use the blood magic again. She then returns to the normal world and she reunites with all those she loves. She is told that technically she is now a master magician because she passed the test by going into the fire realm and coming out with a spirit animal (her bat). She says that she doesn’t want to be a Master Magician she just wants to be the Liaison to Ixia and Sitia so that she can travel around both areas and send souls where they are meant to go. After a homecoming with Valek she then asks him to hide the sculptures with the Warpers souls in them so that no one can find them.

External links

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