Soon she finds herself Scythe's prisoner, slung over the back of his stallion Onyx like baggage as they travel to God knows where, with Rhya clinging to life, having nearly starved while on the run and sustaining some injuries as well. Oddly, Scythe seems to care for her well-being, despite his terrifying demeanor. They seem to be traveling North towards the icy Cimmerian Mountains, but as a girl from a small village, she's heard nothing but horror stories of ice giants and dangerous bands of murderous Reavers, so the thought is horrifying. But even more frightful is the contingent of red-coated soldiers who appear to be hot on their heels, causing Scythe and Rhya to cross a dangerous swinging bridge, nearly losing their lives in the process. Strangely enough, as Rhya is clinging to the rope bridge in abject fear of falling to her death, she is saved when a large gust of wind blows her back to the safety of the bridge.
When they connect with friendlies on the other side, Rhya starts to see a different side of the fearsome man she's been forced to travel with, one who goes by the name of Penn, apparently. She meets his compatriots Farley, Jac, Uther and Mabon, but also proves her own worth when the group is attacked while sheltering in a cave by a group of Cyntroedi, gigantic venomous centipedes, and her skill with a bow and arrow earns her the nickname "Ace." She also shows her skills at healing when Farley gets badly injured. While traveling with this band of brothers is far more pleasant than being with Scythe/Penn alone, despite the magnetism Rhya feels for him, she finds there is far more going on in Anwyvn than she ever knew when she lived in Seahaven.
For one, a man named Efnesian wields dark maegic in the kingdom of Dymmeria and is behind the dreaded soldiers in red who are hunting her. Roaming about are the deadly Reavers, humans who want to tear elven folk limb from limb and do so at every chance. She even discovers that the famed and feared King Soren of Llyr is not nearly as terrifying as she'd heard when he rescues her and she finds herself in his court, learning all about the interesting birthmark she bears on her chest... very similar to his.
It seems there are four Remnants walking the earth at any given time. Water, Fire, Wind and Earth, each with control over their particular element, and they are part of an ancient prophecy regarding maegic, one which Efnesian is determined to thwart. As interesting as it was to learn what she could from Soren, before long, she is back in the company of Penn and his band of men and headed to a kingdom called Caeldera. Rhya will learn more about the mysterious Penn and who he really is, she'll make some dear friends despite the fact that she spends a large portion of time locked in a tower for her own "safety," and she'll experience quite a few horrors, but she will also finally learn to control her powers as a Weaver of Wind. And she just might discover that Penn seems to burn for her just as she does him.
There's a lot that happens in The Wind Weaver as it clocks in at 544 pages. I've barely scratched the surface so as not to ruin anything, but there's a lot to explore here. It starts off fairly action-packed with Rhya running for her life, then turns into a road story with Scythe/Penn and his men. Once they arrive in Caeldera, it switches tack and seems like a different story, with smatterings of romantic buildup happening, only to explode in a deadly battle at the end. I liked the book and actually recommended it to J.R. Nip who really loves fantasy, but it did take me a while to get through it, which is atypical when I am really into a book. However, I am interested to see where the series goes, since it is clear there's a lot more story to tell.
